Customs investigating rape suspect Safat's father Apan Jewellers owner Dildar

The customs has asked the central bank for information on transactions made by Apan Jewellers' co-owner Dildar Ahmed in Bangladesh and abroad.

The customs will also check whether Apan Jewellers' diamonds are real and how it collects gold.

The Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate wrote to the Bangladesh Bank on Thursday.

The move came after netizens flooded the social media with posts against Dildar following his comments on his son Safat Ahmed being accused of rape.

Many have accused the wealthy jeweller of smuggling gold.

CIID Director General Moinul Khan said a committee has been formed to check Dildar and his business's transactions.  

"The allegation of being involved in murky business transactions had been there against him (Dildar) for a long time. The allegation recently resurfaced in the mainstream and social media," Moinul said.

He said Dildar owns gold shops in Uttara, Gulshan and Mouchak.

"He owns a lot of money. We will try to know what he had done before and how he became so rich," the CIID chief said.

He also said the committee will try to know how Dildar collected the gold he is selling, despite there being no import of the precious metal for 10 years.

"We will check whether the diamonds being sold in his shops are real, and if those are being traded transparently and if the duty has been paid properly," he said.

The CIID chief said Dildar will face stern action if the investigation reveals he is involved in crime.

Dildar's eldest son Safat and his friend Shadman Sakif were arrested in Sylhet on Thursday on charges of raping two university students in a Dhaka hotel on Mar 28.

Three other suspects are still at large.

One of the victims started a case on May 6, saying the accused threatened the girls he with dire consequences, including death, if they informed the police. 

A victim told bdnews24.com that Safat had told her that they were involved in gold smuggling. "No one could do anything to us because we would give the police money after one or two murders or rapes," she quoted Safat as saying.

Dildar claims the ‘act of sex’, if any, was consensual - a claim that the plaintiff has outright rejected.