Criminals raped four women of a family while robbing a house in Karnaphuli upazila of Chittagong early Wednesday.

The victims filed a case accusing four unknown people under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act with Karnaphuli Police Station on Saturday evening.

Police yesterday arrested two suspects in Karnaphuli area.

They are Md Sumon alias Abu, 23, a mason, of Shahmirpur village in Karnaphuli, and Md Ismail, of Patiya upazila, said police.

"One of the victims has already identified Abu, saying that he was there during the incident," said Jahedul Islam, assistant commissioner (Karnaphuli zone) of Chittagong Metropolitan Police.

Quoting her, the police official said at gunpoint, the robbers rapped the women, aged between 20 and 25, after looting their house.

Of the four, three are wives of three Dubai expatriate siblings and the other is their husbands' sister, who came to visit her brother's house, said Jahed, adding that the victims were yesterday sent to Chittagong Medical College Hospital for medical tests.

Quoting the victims, AC Jahid said no male members used to live in the house as their husbands were Dubai expatriates and the younger brother of their husbands was studying at a madrasa in Patiya.

Around 1:00am on Wednesday, four robbers, aged about 25-40, entered the one-storey house of the victims, cutting a window grille, said the police official.

He added that the robbers took away gold ornaments worth TK 3.5 lakh, Tk 87,000 in cash and five mobile sets from the house.

The criminals first raped the sister and then the three others, Jahedul said, adding that the robbers left the house around 3:00am.

As the house is located in an isolated area, locals could not hear the victims' screams during the incident, said Shahidul Mostafa, officer-in-charge of Karnaphuli Police Station.

During primary interrogation, Abu said he worked at the house as a mason when the boundary wall of the house was being constructed around a year ago, but denied his involvement in the incident, the OC added.