A Dhaka court on Thursday has fixed July 24 to begin trial proceedings against five accused of raping two university students at Banani’s Raintree hotel.
Judge Md Shafiul Azam of Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal 2 ordered the prosecution to collect statements of from the perpetrators on the day.
Special Prosecutor for the state Ali Akbar said the accused had pleaded innocence and asked for a fair trial after he had read out the case files to them.
Also Read- What the Raintree rapists said in their confessions
A case has been filed under 9(1) section of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act against Shafat Ahmed for raping the plaintiffs and against Nayeem Ashraf for raping her friend.
A separate case has been filed under section 30 against the three other accused- Shafat’s friend Shadman Sakif, bodyguard Rahmat Ullah and driver Billal.
The court also rejected bail plea of the accused and sent them to jail.
Also Read- The Banani rape: How it all happened
Earlier, the accused Shafat Ahmed and his friend Shadman Sakif confessed to raping two female university students at a Banani hotel on March 28. Their confessional statements were recorded section 164 of the Penal Code.
Another accused Nayeem Ashraf confessed to being involved in the rape during police’s primary interrogation.
The perpetrators were caught by the police after the victims filed a case against them on May 6.
The Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal 2 of Dhaka took the charge sheet of the case into cognisance on June 19The story was first published in Bangla Tribune