Univ girls 'raped after birthday party at hotel'

A private university student yesterday filed a case alleging that she and one of her friends were raped by two youths in a posh hotel in the capital's Banani area over a month ago.

Talking to The Daily Star, the girl said all this time they had kept mum because the accused were repeatedly threatening them and tracking their movements. However, they now want justice. 

The girl alleged that Banani police registered the case after a long delay.

As she first went to the police station on Friday evening, officers refused to record the case. She could manage to lodge a written complaint yesterday morning and it was filed as a case last night.

Five youths, including the two alleged rapists, were made accused in the case.  

Around 10:30pm yesterday, the girls were sent to the Victim Support Centre in Tejgaon, SI Sohel Rana from Banani Police Station told this newspaper.

ASI Afroza Khatun, duty officer at the centre, said they received the two  around midnight.   

Talking to this reporter over the phone, the plaintiff said she and the other girl got acquainted with the two culprits through one of their friends early March.

Invited to a birthday party, she along with her friend went to the hotel around 8:30pm on March 28. “They [the two accused] confined us to two rooms at gunpoint after the rooftop party ended around midnight,” she said, adding that one of them raped her twice.

The driver and bodyguard of the rapist were present in the room and the driver even filmed the incident, she alleged.

“My friend was raped in the other room by the other culprit,” she said, based on what the other university girl had told her.

The fifth accused is the person who introduced the girls to the alleged rapists.  He had left the hotel soon after the party, she added.

The plaintiff alleged that police were dilly-dallying while filing the case because the accused were from rich families and that there could be an underhand dealing.

Contacted, Abdul Matin, inspector (investigation) of Banani Police Station, refuted the allegation, saying they took time for primary investigation as the girl came to the police station more than a month after the incident.

When this correspondent visited the hotel, an official said there was a birthday party on the night of March 28 and two rooms were booked by the host and one of his friends for that day. 

Around 9:00am the next day, the youths along with two girls left the hotel, he added. “Nothing seemed unusual when they checked out. None made any complaint to us.”

However, the plaintiff told this newspaper over the phone, “Both of us [the girls] were crying while leaving but no hotel official came to help us. We could not make any complaint as the rapists were with us.”

The hotel authorities said they don't have any CCTV image of that day as they have the capacity to store footage of one month only.