A Dhaka court deferred the long-awaited judgement in a case filed over rape of two private university students at Hotel Raintree in city’s Banani due to judge's illness.
Dhaka Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-7 acting judge passed the order. Tribunal Judge Begum Mosammat Kamrunnahar is currently on leave due to her illness. After hearing the arguments of both parties on October 3, the tribunal had fixed October 12 to deliver its judgement. The court also ordered to send five accused of the case including Safat Ahmed, son of Apon Jewellers' owner Dilder Ahmed, to jail cancelling their bails.
Apart from Safat Ahmed, four other accused are his friends Nayeem Ashraf and SadmanSakif, driver Billal Hossain and bodyguard Rahmat Ali.
Two female students of a private university were invited to a birthday party at Hotel Raintree in Banani where there were raped several times by accused Safat Ahmed and his friend Nayeem Ashraf at the night on March 28 in 2017. Two months after the incident, a rape case was filed against five persons with Banani Police Station.
On June 7, 2017, investigation officer IsmatAra Amy, an inspector at Women Support and Investigation Centre of police, submitted chargesheet against five accused to the tribunal. On June 19, the tribunal accepted the chargesheet against the accused. On July 13, the tribunal ordered trial of the case by framing charges against the five accused.
In the chargesheet, rape charges were brought against Safat Ahmed and his friend Nayeem Ashraf under Section 9 (1) of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act.
Charges were also brought against three other accused--Safat Ahmed's friend SadmanSakib, bodyguard Rahmat Ali and driver Billal Hossain--for abetting in rape under the same Section of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act.
