Dhaka, Aug 13 (IANS): Bangladesh's anti-crime branch early Wednesday arrested the owner of the ferry that had capsized last week in the Padma river, leaving at least 46 people dead and 61 others still missing.
"RAB personnel arrested the ferry owner, Abu Bakkar Siddique, from a house in the seaport city of Chittagong around 3.30 a.m. Wednesday," a senior Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) spokesman Mufti Mahmud Khan told Xinhua.
The double-decker ferry, MV Pinak, capsized with some 250 passengers on board in the Padma in Munshiganj district at around 11.15 a.m. August 4.
Despite hectic efforts, divers could not locate any object or image of the sunken in the river due to strong currents.
Like many other Dhaka-bound ferries, the ill-fated water taxi was excessively overcrowded, some survivors alleged.
Some 120 people were either rescued or managed to swim ashore after the ferry capsized in high winds and rains.