This April 24 photo shows the rear view of collapse site of Rana Plaza. Star file photo.

The Anti-Corruption Commission will file a case against Savar Municipal Mayor Md Refatullah and 16 others for allowing construction of Rana Plaza building violating national building code.

The ACC approved the filing of the case more than a year after the collapse of the building that killed at least 1,135 people, mostly readymade garment workers, at Savar on the outskirts of the capital.

However, the prime accused of the country’s worst industrial disaster and owner of the building Sohel Rana will not be accused in the case.

A probe by the anti-graft watchdog has found that the nine-storey Rana Plaza was not approved by Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) though Rajuk's approval was mandatory for constructing such a building.

ACC Director Wing Commander Tahidul Islam said the building authorities initially availed approval for a six-storey building but later they erected up to the ninth-storey.

He added the local municipal authority including its engineers gave approval for building the plaza illegally.

On top of that, the building authorities used substandard construction materials.

Asked a top ACC official said they spared Rana from the charge as he was not owner of the plot on which the building was constructed.

Rana's parents--Abdul Khalek and Morjina Begum -- were included in the list of accused as they were owners of the plot.

Prompted by newspaper reports, ACC formed the probe committee on April 28 last year, four days after the tragedy, to investigate how Rana had amassed his wealth and whether Rana Plaza was constructed following building code.