A court in Dhaka has deferred the hearing in a case filed over the rape of two private university students at a hotel in Banani.

The court has rescheduled the hearing to Mar 18.

Women and Child Repression Prevention Tribunal Judge Md Khadem Ul Kayes passed the order as the witnesses in the case didn’t appear before the court on Wednesday (Mar 6).

Of the five accused, Shafat Ahmed and Nayem Ashraf were indicted for rape, while three others -- Shadman Sakif, Shafat’s driver Billal Hossain, and bodyguard Rahmat Ali---were charged with assisting in the rape.

According to the case dossiers, the two victims went to The Raintree Dhaka around 9 pm on March 28, 2017 after being invited to Shafat’s birthday party. After the rooftop party ended, around midnight, two of the five accused raped the girls in two hotel rooms.