Court Correspondent :
All five accused, including Safat Ahmed, son of Dildar Ahmed, Co-owner of Apan Jewellers, were yesterday acquitted from charges of raping two private university students at the Raintree Hotel of Banani in the capital.
Begum Mosammat Kamrunnahar, Judge of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-7 of Dhaka, delivered the verdict on Thursday afternoon.
The five acquitted are Shafat Ahmed, son of Apan Jewellers Co-owner Dilder Ahmed, Shafat’s friend Shadman Sakif, Director of Regnum Group, Nayem Ashraf, an employee of E-Makers Event Management, Shafat’s driver Billal Hossain and bodyguard Rahmat Ali.
Earlier Judge Begum Mosammat Kamrunnahar fixed Thursday to deliver the judgement.
Two private university students were repeatedly raped at gunpoint at a birthday party from 9:00pm on March 28, 2017 to 10:00am on the following day at the Raintree Hotel in Banani area.
On May 6, 2017, a rape case was filed against the five persons including Safat with Banani Police Station.After investigation, Ismat Ara Amy, Investigation Officer (IO) of the case and Inspector of the Women Support and Investigation Division of Police, submitted the charge sheet against the accused to the tribunal on June 7, 2017.
On June 19 of the same year, the same tribunal accepted the charge sheet against the accused. On July 13, of the same year, Judge Shafiul Azam of Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-2 of Dhaka ordered the trial against the accused.
Judge Begum Mosammat Kamrunnahar of the tribunal-7 could not deliver the verdict on October 27,as the court activities remained suspended due to the death of veteran lawyer Abdul Baset Majumder. Later, the judge set November 11, as the new date for delivering the verdict in the case.
On October 3, ahead of the verdict, the court rejected the accused peoples’ bail pleas and sent to the jail.
On November 11, Shafat Ahmed, and four other accused were produced in the court.
Judge Mosammat Kamrunnahar passed the acquittal order in presence of the accused in a packed courtroom, after 93 working days. The judge, in her verdict, said the prosecution failed to prove the charges brought against the accused and they were acquitted.
During the verdict, the judge criticized the Investigation Officer of the case for submitting the charge sheet even thought no evidence was found against the accused and for “wasting time”.
Shafat and Nayem were charged with raping two women while Billal, Rahmant and Sakif for helping them during and after the incident.
Earlier, the prosecution and the defense completed their arguments and the tribunal recorded the statements of 21 prosecution witnesses, including complainant of the case.
On June 8, 2017, Ismot Ara Ame, Inspector of the Women Support and Investigation Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police and Investigation Officer of the case, submitted the charge sheet against the accused. On July 13 of the same year, the same tribunal framed the charges against them.
A university student filed the case with Banani Police Station accusing Shafat, Sakif and three others on May 6 of 2017.
According to the case statement, two young men including Shafat raped the complainant and another university student on March 28 at a birthday part at the Raintree Hotel in Banani while three others assisted them.
