A Narayanganj court today accepted the charge sheet in the murder case filed over the July 2021 fire at Hashem Foods Ltd in Narayanganj, which killed 54 people.

The court also rejected a naraji (no-confidence) petition filed by victims families' challenging the charge sheet, which earlier was submitted dropping the names of the company owner and his four sons.

Narayanganj Senior Judicial Magistrate Kazi Mohsin passed the order after the hearing on acceptance of the charge sheet.

Petitioners' lawyer Advocate Sohel Azad, told this newspaper that, "54 people lost their lives due to negligence of the factory authorities. However, the owner's name has been omitted from the charge sheet. My clients filed an appeal against this. However, the court rejected our application".

"We couldn't get justice because the opponent party is very influential. We will go to the higher court," added the lawyer.

On September 4 this year, the Criminal Investigation Department of police submitted the charge sheet, dropping the names of the company owner and his four sons.

Abul Hashem, the owner of the food processing company, and his sons were not named in the charge sheet as the investigating officer did not find any evidence of their involvement in the incident, according to the charge sheet.

Hashem was the prime accused in the case.

IO Inspector Moksedur Rahman filed the 13-page charge sheet before the Chief Judicial Magistrate's court against six, more than two years after the blaze.

The six people named as accused in the charge sheet are company CEO Shahan Shah Azad, DGM Mamunur Rashid, administrative officer Md Salauddin, chief engineer (mechanical and electrical) Omar Farooq, and Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments inspectors Nesar Uddin and Saikat Mahmud.