We want justice, not compensation: Rupganj fire victims families say

Relatives of the workers who died in the fire at Shezan Food factory in Narayanganj's Rupganj have demanded punishment for those responsible for the incident.

They pleaded to the authorities while the bodies of 24 victims of the fire were handed over to their families today.

Shahinoor, father of Tania, 18, who died in the fire while working on the 3rd floor of the building, said no amount of compensation will bring back his daughter.

"I want justice for my daughter's death. I will not get my daughter back with compensation. Bring me my daughter. We want the (factory) owner punished," he told The Business Standard.

Nayan Mia, the father of another deceased worker, had been waiting for his daughter's body since 5am.

"I will never get my daughter back. We want justice…," he said, adding that no father should ever face what he had to.

Nayan Mia's daughter Nazma Begum, 25, had worked in the factory for 5 years. She was the mother of a four-year-old boy.

Husband to another deceased worker Nazma Begum, Afzal Hossain, 35, lamented saying that his wife worked to reduce the economic hardship of his family.

"Now I've lost everything. Those who lose a relative understand the pain of losing a dear one. We want the owner punished. Why were the workers locked up and burned that day?" he told The Business Standard.

Nazma used to work on the 3rd floor of the factory building.

Out of the 48 recovered bodies, 24 were identified and handed over to their relatives today.

At least 51 workers died in the deadly fire that engulfed the six-storey building at Rupganj on 8 July. Four of the bodies were handed over to the families after autopsy then.

As the rest of the bodies could not be identified, the CID on 12 July collected samples from 66 relatives of victims for DNA tests.