Banani rape: Raintree deleted CCTV footages of March 28 night

The hotel authorities claimed that the footages deleted as those were recorded more than a month ago.

The Raintree Hotel authorities had deleted their closed-circuit camera television footages of March 28 night soon after five persons allegedly raped two young women in two rooms of the hotel.

The investigators now are trying to recover the deleted footages amid noncooperation of the hotel authorities.

“Investigation is underway to dig up information whether the wealthy families of the accused persons have influenced the hotel authorities to delete the footage,” the investigators said.

However, the hotel authorities claimed that the footages deleted as those were recorded more than a month ago.

A police official of Banani police station, seeking anonymity, said that the hotel authorities deleted the footage of entire March on the last day of the month – couple of days after of the rape incident.

After experiencing repeated threats from the accused, the two young women, students of two private universities in Dhaka, on May 6 lodged a case with Banani police brining rape allegation against Shafaat Ahmed, his friends Nayeem Ashraf, Sadman Sakif, Shafaat’s driver Billal and his bodyguard Abul Kalam Azad.

The women alleged that Shafaat and two of his friends raped them after a birthday party at The Raintree hotel in Banani on March 28 while the two others assisted the rapists.

The hotel Manager Frank Forget and Internal Operations Executive Farjan Ara Rimi told journalists that they provided all information and required supports to police.

“None raised such complaint on that day. And we are unable to provide CCTV footages, as we only preserve the footages of last 30 days,” said the high officials of the hotel.

The investigating agency Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Women Support Centre and investigation Unit Additional Deputy Commissioner Asma Siddiqa Mili said: “We are working to recover all evidence of the case including the CCTV footages. The hotel authorities could not provide us that night’s CCTV footages.”

“Now we are thinking about taking assistance from experts to recover the deleted footages. If needed we will seek help from the forensic unit of Criminal Investigation Department,” she added.

CID’s Special Superintendent of Police Sheikh Md Rezaul Haider said: “It is not right that the footages cannot be preserved for more than 30 days. It should be investigated whether the hotel authorities are intentionally not providing the footages or have deleted those deliberately.”

He also said: “The deleted footages could be recovered if those have erased from the computer’s hard disk. If the footages are deleted by formatting the windows, then it will be tough to regain those, but not impossible.”

“In this case, the hotel authorities will be guilty if it is found that they formatted the windows of the computer.”

The CID high officials said that they solved many clueless cases with the assistance of its forensic unit.

The two victims claimed that the whole incident was pre-planned while the hotel authorities also involved with the incident by assisting the rapists.

On Saturday, a case was filed with Banani police against Shafaat Ahmed, 26, Nayeem Ashraf, 30, Sadman Sakif, 24, and Billal, 26, for the alleged rape of two young women at the Raintree Hotel in Banani after a birthday party on March 28.

According to the case file, Shafaat, the son of Dildar Ahmed, one of the owners of Apan Jewellers, and his two friends allegedly raped the two university students while Shafaat’s bodyguard held the girls at gunpoint and Shafaat’s driver Billal, 26, videotaped the incident. The bodyguard also guarded in front of the two rooms during the rape.

Source: dhakatribune