Cox's Bazar Resort Fire That Killed 10 Tourists: Court Summons Ukhiya OC Over Bailable-Section Case

A case has been filed against 23 people under bailable sections over the fire at the wooden Tuptup Resort on Patuatertek beach in Ukhiya, Cox's Bazar, in which 10 tourists died. A judge has summoned Ukhiya Police Station's officer-in-charge (OC), Atikur Rahman, to court over the case, with the court describing the recording of the case under bailable sections, without adding a non-bailable section, as a grave offence.

The resort caught fire on the morning of 17 October, and the burnt bodies of 10 people were recovered. Nine days after the incident, three accused, including resort owner Md Tanvir Sultan Mia, have still not been arrested, though police have arrested the resort's assistant manager, Zahid Hossain.

On Monday, Cox's Bazar Senior Judicial Magistrate Asad Uddin Md Asif ordered OC Atikur Rahman to appear in person before the court on 29 October and submit a written explanation. The order said he must explain why legal action and departmental punishment should not be ordered against him under Section 218 of the Penal Code, 1860.

Shahajahan Elahi Nuri, administrative officer of the Cox's Bazar Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, confirmed the court order, saying copies of the notice had been sent to OC Atikur Rahman and the relevant offices.

Asked about the matter, OC Atikur Rahman said he had not received the court's notice as of Monday evening, and that he would appear before the court in due time and explain the allegation once he received it. He said he too was saddened by the deaths of the 10 tourists in the Tuptup Resort fire. The OC said Section 304 of the Penal Code had been left out of the case statement amid the rush of the fire, and that an application was made to the court the following day to add the section.

The court order said the case over the 17 October fire at Tuptup Resort, in which 10 tourists died, cited Sections 304A, 338 and 34 of the Penal Code. A day after the case was filed, on 19 October, the investigating officer applied to add Section 304.

In its observations, the court said OC Atikur Rahman, as the recording officer of the case, had 'deliberately' not added Section 304 when recording the case statement. The court held that by recording the case under the bailable Section 304A instead of the non-bailable Section 304 in a sensational incident involving the deaths of 10 tourists, he had committed a grave offence. The order also said the court believed recording the case under a bailable section carried a dishonest intention to shield the accused from appropriate punishment.

If an offence under Section 304 of the Penal Code is proven, the punishment can be life imprisonment or up to 10 years in prison. Section 304A, by contrast, carries a maximum sentence of five years.

The order further said Tuptup Resort had no fire extinguishing system and no emergency exit (fire exit), so the tourists caught in the fire were trapped inside the resort and died unable to get out. The court's observations noted that the resort's owner and those involved had long been running the resort without any fire extinguishing system, even though there was a risk that guests could lose their lives, unable to leave their rooms, if a fire broke out.

Police and court sources said police learned of the fire at the resort through the national emergency service 999 at around 8:30am on 17 October. Reaching the spot at around 9:15am, police found Fire Service personnel trying to extinguish the blaze. The fire was brought under control at around 2:30pm, after which the bodies of 10 people were recovered from the resort.

Sub-Inspector Rimon Ghosh of the Inani police outpost prepared the inquest reports on the bodies. As the bodies were burnt, they could not be identified, and they were later sent to the morgue of Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital for post-mortem examinations and DNA sample collection.

Sub-Inspector Ashish Sutradhar of Ukhiya Police Station filed the case on charges of death by negligence at around 11pm on 17 October. Four people were named and 19 unidentified people were accused — 23 accused in total. The four named accused are resort owner Md Tanvir Sultan Mia (38), of Purba Gomdandi in Boalkhali, Chattogram; chief manager Said Ahmad (32), of Barishal; manager Mohammad Said (30), of Jaliyapalong in Ukhiya; and assistant manager Zahid Hossain Sumon (29), of Chunati in Lohagara, Chattogram. Nineteen people working at the resort and restaurant were named as unidentified accused.

However, the name of another resort owner, Newaz Morshed, is not in the case statement. OC Atikur Rahman said an application had been made to the court to include his name, which had been left out by mistake.

Police arrested the case's fourth accused, Zahid Hossain, on the afternoon of 18 October and produced him before the court, seeking seven days' remand. Court sources said the application had not been heard as of Monday afternoon and could be heard on Tuesday. Zahid Hossain has been sent to Cox's Bazar District Jail.