Female students invited to birthday party allegedly raped

Two private university students have reportedly been raped during a birthday celebration at a hotel in Dhaka. The victims of this incident are two private university students who have claimed that police are not cooperating with them in arresting the two alleged youths who raped them at a hotel in March. The students brought the allegation, claiming police have remained non co-operational as the perpetrators belong to influential families. According to the students, they were invited to a birthday of a friend, the son of a prominent businessman, at the Rain Tree Hotel in Banani on March 28. After the party ended at midnight, the victim alleged she had been raped by him, and that her friend had been raped by his friend, the son of another prominent businessman, in separate rooms at the hotel overnight. The perpetrators also allegedly threatened them to not speak to police. The victims claim they were also harassed and threatened with the release of video footage on social media. The DMP's Gulshan crime division additional deputy commissioner Abdul Ahad and the Women Support and Investigation Division official visited the hotel Saturday. Rain Tree hotel general manager Frank Forget confirmed that both the alleged perpetrators booked two rooms on March 28 and stayed the night. According to the manager, they interviewed 14 staff members to check what happened on the night, but none of them heard any screaming or found anything suspicious about the room later. "None of the girls made any complaint at that time," said Frank Forget. He also said the hotel authorities do not keep video footage for more than a month. Banani police station Inspector (investigation) Md Abdul Matin said the rape allegations were brought by the female students in the presence of a former wife of one of the alleged rapists on May 5. Inspector Matin said the girls accused two men of rape and three others for assisting the perpetrators in committing the crime. Police had interrogated the hotel staff but had not talked to the accused the girls had mentioned, he added. Dr Shohel Mahmud of Dhaka Medical College Hospital said a five-member committee has been formed to perform forensic tests and confirm the incident. Women Support and Investigation Division Additional Deputy Commissioner Asma Siddika Mili said the two victims were sent to DMCH for medical tests. DMP Deputy Commissioner (Media) Masudur Rahman said police are yet to arrest the two accused.