Accused Couple Brought to Court for Defense Hearing

Sohel Rana and his wife Swapna Akhter, the two accused in the rape and murder of child Ramisa Akhter in Pallabi, will present their defense in court today.

Authorities transported Sohel from Keraniganj Central Jail and Swapna from Kashimpur Central Jail to the Dhaka court lockup on Wednesday morning. The defense hearing, mandated under Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. before Judge Masrur Salekin at the Dhaka Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal.

Court bench assistant Pankaj Peter Gomez confirmed the proceedings. The hearing follows the rapid conclusion of witness testimonies on Tuesday. Sixteen of the 17 listed witnesses testified, including Ramisa’s parents, relatives, neighbors, doctors, and investigating police officers. The court had officially framed charges against the couple just last Monday.

According to case documents, second-grade student Ramisa went missing from her Pallabi Section-11 apartment on the morning of May 19. Her family later found her sandals outside the adjacent flat occupied by Sohel and Swapna. Upon forcing the door open, they discovered the child's decapitated body inside.

Police investigators stated that Sohel raped and murdered the child, then severed her head in an attempt to dispose of the body. Swapna was apprehended at the scene, while Sohel fled by cutting a window grill. He was later tracked down and arrested in the Fatulla area of Narayanganj. During the investigation, Sohel provided a confessional statement to the court.

Ramisa's father, Abdul Hannan Mollah, filed the initial murder case at Pallabi Police Station on the day of the incident. Following a swift investigation, Sub-Inspector Md. Ahiduzzaman submitted the charge sheet on May 24, leading the tribunal to fast-track the trial.