Banani rape case: Apan Jewellers owner’s son Shafat granted bail

A Dhaka court has granted bail to Shafat Ahmed, son of Apan Jewellers owner Dildar Ahmed, in a case filed over the rape of two private university students in a posh hotel in Dhaka’s Banani. 

Judge Khademul Kayes of Dhaka Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal 7 passed the order on Thursday, after a hearing on Shafat’s bail petition.

Court sources said Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court’s Chief Public Prosecutor Abdullah Abu and the court’s public prosecutor Afroza Farhana Ahmed stood for the state, while Kazi Nojibullah Hiru represented the accused during the hearing.

Afroza Farhana Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune: “The court granted bail to Shafat after the hearing on his bail petition in the case.” 

On June 8 last year, Inspector Ismot Ara Ame of the Women Support and Investigation Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, also the investigating officer of the case, submitted the charge sheet in the case naming five accused, including Shafat Ahmed.

Of the five accused, Shafat Ahmed and Nayem Ashraf were indicted for rape, while three others -- Shadman Sakif, Shafat’s driver Billal Hossain, and bodyguard Rahmat Ali---were charged with assisting in the rape.

Also Read - The Banani rape: How it all happened

Although the trial of the case began on July 13, 2017, progress is yet to be made, court sources said. 

Earlier in January, Shafat’s bodyguard Rahamat Ali secured bail from the High Court in the case. 

On March 15, Billal Hossain was granted bail by Dhaka Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-2.

According to the case statement, the two girls went to the hotel, The Raintree Dhaka, in Banani around 9pm on March 28 last year, after being invited to Shafat’s birthday party. After the rooftop party ended around midnight, two out of the five accused raped the girls in two hotel rooms.

Shafat is the main accused in the case.

One of the two rape victims filed a case with Banani Police Station accusing the five people on May 6. 

Following the rape allegations, law enforcers arrested the five accused from Dhaka and Sylhet. Of them, Shafat, Nayem, Sakif and Billal gave confessional statements before magistrates on different dates.