Staff Reporter :
Country’s social scientists and criminology experts are in confusion over the much-talked about rape incident of the two private university students at a Banani hotel centering fashion or money in the name of birthday celebrations.
They smell something fishy over the sensational rape case as why the victims went to the police station after 38 days of the incident and also the present activities of law enforcers and other agencies.
Why did police delay to file the rape case and harass the victims before lodging the case complaint against Shafat Ahmed and his friend Shadman Sakif and others, they questioned?
They suspected that the incident might have stayed the proper investigation influenced by the high profile businessman Dildar Ahmed, a self-announced gold smuggler.
In this context, the Customs Investigation Directorate has started the investigation about the sources of properties of Dildar Ahmed.
Masuda M Rashid Chowdhury, a Social Scientist and Professor of Sociology Department of Dhaka University, told The New Nation on Saturday that the rape incident might have occurred based on understating at a party in such as a posh hotel.
“I think it was preplanned incident as no hotel staff helped the girls to rescue from the rape incident during the whole night. Even police did not arrest any hotel employee that is very questionable,” Professor Masuda said.
The girls also might have gone to the hotel following the understanding to get money for sexual intercourse with so called friends, she opined.
She also termed the rape incident as trap on behalf of rapists or victims or their axis.
Replying to a query, she however, said that all investigators and law enforcers have to give priority to the dignity of victims and their families.
Professor Zia Rahman of the Criminology Department of Dhaka University said that drug addiction, fashion and money might have influenced to commit the rape incident.
Some experts also raised question over the present stance of the National Borad of Revenue (NBR) saying the move might be taken to divert people’s attention to other dimensions.
A detective official of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police said the rapists may have committed such as incident several times.
ADC Asma Siddiqua Mili of the Women Support and Investigation Division said the background and nature of the suspect give reasons to suspect that they may have committed crimes against women before.
Narrating the incident, one of the university students told the media that Safat pestered her and her friend to join his birthday party and it was with reluctance that they went to the hotel at Banani.
Meanwhile, Customs intelligence on Friday formed a committee to investigate the sources of wealth of Dilder Ahmed Selim, owner of Apan Jewellers and father of accused Shafat, said Moinul Khan, Director General of Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) under the National Board of Revenue.
“We have already issued a letter to the Bangladesh Bank seeking information of the bank accounts of Dilder Ahmed and his son,” the DG said.
“It was learnt that Dilder Ahmed earned huge amount of money through gold business, but in the last five years, no gold was imported into the country through proper channel. So, we want to know how he could make the money and property,” he added.
“A committee has been formed to check their transactions. We will try to find out how Dildar collected the gold he is selling, despite the fact that there has been no gold import for 10 years,” Moinul Khan added.
The two victims on May 6 filed a case with Banani police against Shafat, his friends Nayeem Ashraf, Shadman, Shafat’s driver Billal and his unnamed bodyguard, the police official said.
Of them, Shafat and Nayeem Ashraf raped the girls in the hotel while three others assisted them, he said.
