N'ganj mosque blast: 8 Titas Gas employees on 2-day remand

A Narayanganj court has placed eight suspended employees of Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited on a two-day remand, each, in Fatullah Police Station, in a case filed over the mosque blast.

The court, on Saturday, passed the order when police produced them before the court, following their arrest.

Earlier in the day, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police arrested them in a case filed with Fatullah Police Station over the mosque blast incident, CID senior assistant superintendent Jisan Haque told The Business Standard.      

The employees, including four engineers, have been suspended for their alleged negligence that led to the explosion.

They are: Manik Mia, assistant engineer; Md Sirajul Islam, manager; Mahmudur Rahman Rabbi, deputy-manager; SM Hasan Shahriar, assistant engineer; Md Monibur Rahman Chowdhury, senior supervisor; Md Ayub Ali, Md Hanif Mia and Md Ismail Pradhan. 

Earlier, on September 17, a probe report of Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited claimed that a spark from an illegal power connection to the mosque had caused the explosion.

However, the mosque committee of Narayanganj's Baitus Salat Jame Masjid called the Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited probe report "biased" and "a complete lie."

On September 4, around 150 people were attending Esha prayer when the incident took place. The explosion ripped through the mosque at once. All six ACs exploded at the same time and the windows shattered. Around 40 injured people were taken to a hospital in Narayanganj.

Later, doctors sent the critical patients to Dhaka and they were admitted to Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery.

The deadly blast claimed 33 lives and four more victims are still battling for their lives at the hospital.

Later, Sub Inspector Hymayum Kabir filed a case with Fatullah Police Station over the explosion.

8 Titas Gas employees suspended over mosque blast