Sohel Rana and his wife Swapna Akhter, the prime accused in the much-talked-about rape and murder of child Ramisa Akhter in Pallabi, were presented in court on Sunday morning. They were brought from prison under tight security at around 8:30 am (June 7).
Judge Masrur Salekin of the Dhaka Metropolitan Child Violence Prevention Tribunal is scheduled to deliver the verdict today.
The court set the verdict date on June 4 after hearing arguments from both the state and the defense. Notably, the formal trial concluded in just four working days. Security around the court premises has been tightened ahead of the announcement, with additional police and plainclothes intelligence officers deployed.
Charges were framed against the couple on June 1. Testimonies began the following day, with the court hearing 16 of the 18 witnesses. During the defense hearing on June 3, the accused claimed innocence.
According to the case statement, Ramisa, a second-grader at Popular Model High School, was lured into Swapna's room shortly after leaving her own home around 9:30 am on May 19. An hour later, her mother began searching for her so she could leave for school, eventually spotting Ramisa's shoes outside the accused's door.
Receiving no response to their knocks, the parents and neighbors broke down the door. Inside, they discovered the child's decapitated body on the bedroom floor, with her head hidden in a large bucket.
Police responded to a 999 emergency call and detained Swapna at the scene. Using digital tracking, police later arrested Sohel Rana in front of the Fatulla Police Station in Narayanganj. Ramisa's father, Abdul Hannan Mollah, filed a murder case at the Pallabi Police Station on May 20.
