Trial Begins for Sohel Rana and Wife, Testimony Tuesday

A Dhaka court has framed charges against Sohel Rana and his wife Swapna Akhter, initiating the formal trial for the rape and murder of eight-year-old Ramisa Akhter in the capital's Pallabi area.

Judge Masrur Salekin of the Dhaka Child Violence Prevention Tribunal issued the order on Monday after concluding the charge-framing hearing. The court has scheduled the recording of witness testimonies to begin tomorrow, Tuesday.

Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court Public Prosecutor Omar Faruk Farooqui confirmed the development. Earlier on May 24, the court had scheduled the hearing after accepting the charge sheet filed against the couple and transferring the case to the Child Violence Prevention Tribunal for trial.

Sub-Inspector Ahiduzzaman of Pallabi Police Station, the investigation officer of the case, submitted the charge sheet naming 18 witnesses. According to the charge sheet, investigators found evidence against Sohel Rana for rape and murder, and against Swapna Akhter for aiding and abetting the crime.

Ramisa Akhter was brutally raped and murdered in Pallabi on May 19.