Closing arguments have begun in the trial for the rape and murder of eight-year-old Ramisa in Pallabi.
The hearing commenced at 12:45 pm on Thursday at the Dhaka Metropolitan Child Violence Prevention Tribunal, presided over by Judge Masrur Salekin.
The accused couple, Sohel Rana and his wife Swapna Khatun, were brought to the courtroom from the Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court jail. Following a brief delay due to Swapna requiring primary medical treatment, both defendants were present for the proceedings.
During the hearing, Special Public Prosecutor Azizur Rahman Dulu sought the maximum penalty for the accused. State-appointed defense lawyer Musa Kalimullah argued on their behalf. During their defense hearing on Wednesday, the couple claimed innocence.
The trial has proceeded swiftly. The court framed charges on Monday, June 1, and over the following days, 16 out of the 17 state witnesses named in the charge sheet completed their testimonies. The tribunal officially took cognizance of the charge sheet, submitted by Pallabi Police Station Sub-Inspector Ahiduzzaman, on May 24.
The gruesome crime occurred on the morning of May 19. Ramisa, a second-grade student at Popular Model High School, was allegedly lured into the accused’s room by Swapna. When the child's mother went looking for her to take her to school, she spotted Ramisa's shoes outside their door.
After receiving no response to their knocks, Ramisa's parents and neighbors broke down the door. They discovered the child's decapitated body inside the bedroom. Police, alerted via the 999 national emergency service, arrived at the scene and immediately took Swapna into custody. Her husband, Sohel Rana, was later apprehended in Narayanganj using digital surveillance.
The victim's father, Abdul Hannan Mollah, officially filed the murder case at Pallabi Police Station on May 20.
