Rana Plaza owner Sohel Rana's bail stayed

Sohel Rana, owner of the ill-fated Rana Plaza that collapsed in 2013, killing over 1,100 workers, will remain in jail as the Appellate Division has stayed his bail for six months.

The High Court had granted Rana bail on 1 October in a murder case connected to the tragedy, but the country’s top court has now intervened, citing the severity of the case.

The stay order was issued by a three-member bench, led by Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam, after the state filed a petition to halt the bail.

The Appellate Division has instructed that a rule issued on the bail stay be resolved within two months.

Representing the state, Attorney General Mohammad Arshadur Rouf and Barrister Anik R Haque argued the case, while Advocate Mohammad Shishir Monir appeared on behalf of Sohel Rana.

Rana, who was detained while attempting to flee to India in 2013, has since been held in Kashimpur Part-II Jail in Gazipur.

Living under typical prison conditions, eyewitnesses describe him as having adapted to jail life with no visible signs of remorse for the catastrophe that forever altered Bangladesh’s garment industry.

The 2013 collapse remains one of the world’s deadliest industrial disasters, leaving 1,138 workers dead and injuring more than 2,500 others.