A Dhaka court has fixed October 12 to deliver its verdict against five accused in a case filed over the rape of two private university students at an upscale hotel in Dhaka’s Banani area.
Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal 8 Judge Begum Mosammat Kamrunnahar on Sunday set the date after hearing the closing arguments of prosecution and defence.
The five accused in the case are Shafat Ahmed, Nayem Ashraf, Shadman Sakif, Shafat’s driver Billal Hossain and bodyguard Rahmat Ali. Shafat is the son of Dildar Ahmed, one of the owners of Apan Jewellers.
The tribunal also rejected their bail pleas and sent them to jail.
Afroza Farhana Orange, special public prosecutor of the tribunal, said the prosecution expects all accused to get the death penalty as it has been able to prove the charges brought against the five.
Meanwhile, one of the defence counsels, Md Khairul Islam Liton, affirmed that the accused will be acquitted as the prosecution has been unable to prove the charges.
On June 8, 2017, Inspector Ismot Ara Ame of the Women Support and Investigation Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, investigating officer of the case, submitted the charge sheet against the five accused.
Of the five, Shafat and Nayem were indicted for rape and the rest for aiding and abetting the crime.
Invited to Shafat’s birthday party on March 28, 2017, the two girls went to The Raintree Dhaka hotel at Banani at around 9pm. After the rooftop party ended around midnight, two of five accused raped the girls in two hotel rooms, according to the case details.
Later on May 6 that year, one of the two rape survivors filed a cases with Banani police station accusing five people, with Shafat being the key accused.
Following the rape allegation, law enforcers arrested the five from Dhaka and Sylhet. Of them, Shafat, Nayem, Sakif and Billal later gave confessional statements before magistrates on different dates.
