DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh said on Tuesday a fire that
killed 111 textile workers was sabotage as protesters took to the streets for a
second day and garment factories across the world's second biggest clothes
exporter stopped work to mourn the dead.
The country's worst-ever industrial blaze broke out on
Saturday and consumed a multi-storey building of a Tazreen Fashions factory.
More than 150 workers were injured.
The fire has put a spotlight on global retailers that
source clothes from Bangladesh, where the cost of labor is low - as little as
$37 a month for some workers - and rights groups have called on big-brand firms
to sign up to a fire safety program.
The interior minister, Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, said
according to a preliminary inquiry, the fire was the result of arson. He
promised to bring the culprits to justice.
"We have come to the conclusion that it was an act
of sabotage. We are finding out as of now who exactly the saboteurs are and all
culprits will be brought to book," Alamgir said.