DHAKA: The head of an official inquiry into the deadly collapse of a Bangladesh factory complex said yesterday the building’s owner was the “main culprit” for the disaster because he violated construction codes.

The cave-in of the nine-story Rana Plaza outside the capital last month killed over 1,100 workers in the country’s worst industrial disaster.

“He (owner Sohel Rana) is the main culprit and because of him 1,127 people have died,” said Main Uddin Khandaker, head of the government-appointed probe into the April 24 tragedy.

“He became rich with black money and started defying all laws and regulations. He is the by-product of our rotten politics and represents the decadent part of our society. He was a terror personified.”

Khandaker said the panel has asked the government to prosecute Rana, a low-level official of the ruling Awami League, for “culpable homicide” which carries a maximum life prison term.

“He defied building codes, used sub-standard construction materials and failed to follow specifications,” he told reporters before submitting a 400-page report to the government on the plant’s collapse.

The report comes days ahead of a visit to Bangladesh by a US government team to press for a major overhaul of factory safety rules. The disaster has focused global attention on appalling safety standards in the nation’s 4,500 garment plants.

A US delegation set to arrive on Sunday, led by the State Department’s Under Secretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman, will meet officials in the Bangladesh government.

“They’ll talk about labor law reforms,” US ambassador Dan Mozena told reporters in Dhaka.

“They’ll talk about fire safety standards — a minimum standard for every factory. They’ll talk about minimum structural soundness standards,” he said.

If the proposals are accepted, “it will become the largest ‘better work’ program in history,” he added.

US firms are among the leading garment importers from Bangladesh.