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The verdict has been announced in the case filed concerning the rape and murder of eight-year-old school student Ramisa Akter in Pallabi, Dhaka. The court has sentenced the accused, Sohel Rana, and his wife, Swapna Akter, to death.
Following widespread public outrage across the country and assurances of swift justice from the government, the court announced the verdict in this high-profile case on Sunday (June 7), merely 19 days after the incident.
Special Public Prosecutor Azizur Rahman Dulu stated that Judge Masrur Salekin of the Dhaka Metropolitan Child Violence Prevention Tribunal announced the verdict around 11 AM.
The tribunal concluded the trial in just five hearings. Charges were framed on June 1, and the witness testimony concluded the very next day.
Earlier today, at 8:50 AM, Sohel Rana, the primary accused in the nationally discussed case involving the rape and throat-slitting murder of child Ramisa Akter in Pallabi, Mirpur, Dhaka, was brought to court in a prison van from jail.
At 8:30 AM today, Swapna Akter, Sohel Rana’s wife and the other accused in the same case, was brought to court. Both were in the lockup before the verdict was announced. Judge Masrur Salekin’s court at the Dhaka Metropolitan Child Violence Prevention Tribunal will announce the verdict in this high-profile case.
Previously, on June 4, after the presentation of arguments by both the prosecution and the defense, the court set today for the verdict. The trial concluded in just four working days.
Security has been heightened in the court premises surrounding the verdict announcement. In addition to extra police, members of various intelligence agencies were also seen actively present in plain clothes.
On June 1, charges were framed against Sohel and his wife Swapna, and an order to begin the trial was issued. Witness testimony began on June 2. On that day, the court completed the testimony of 16 out of 18 witnesses. Later, on June 3, the defendants claimed their innocence during the self-defense hearing.
According to the First Information Report (FIR) of the case, Ramisa, a second-grade student of Popular Model High School, left her home around 9:30 AM on May 19. At that time, Swapna cunningly lured her to their house.
Around 10:30 AM that day, Ramisa’s mother started looking for her to go to school. At one point, she found her daughter’s shoes in front of Sohel’s door. After calling out and receiving no response, Ramisa’s parents and residents of other flats broke down the door and entered, discovering Ramisa’s headless body on the floor of Sohel’s bedroom and her head inside a large bucket.
Subsequently, police arrived at the scene after receiving a call via emergency service 999 and took Swapna into custody. With the help of information technology, Sohel Rana was arrested from in front of Fatullah Police Station in Narayanganj. The victim’s father filed a case at Pallabi Police Station on May 20 regarding this incident.