A tribunal has set Sunday, June 7, to announce the verdict in the rape and murder case of eight-year-old Ramisa in Mirpur’s Pallabi.
Judge Masrur Salekin of the Dhaka Metropolitan Child Violence Prevention Tribunal fixed the date on Thursday after concluding closing arguments from both the prosecution and the defense.
The trial has proceeded at an unprecedented pace. The court formally framed charges against the accused—Sohel Rana and his wife Swapna—on Monday, June 1. The following day, the court recorded testimonies from 16 witnesses. During the defense hearing on Wednesday, both accused claimed innocence.
The charge sheet was submitted swiftly by Pallabi Police Station Sub-Inspector Ahiduzzaman on May 24, just five days after the incident, paving the way for the fast-tracked trial.
The Incident Ramisa, a second-grade student at Popular Model High School, was murdered on May 19. According to case details, she left her apartment around 9:30 am when Swapna lured the child into her room.
An hour later, Ramisa's mother began searching for her and spotted the child's shoes outside the couple's door. When knocks went unanswered, the family and neighbors broke down the door. They discovered the child’s decapitated body inside the room.
Police arrived shortly after receiving a call via the 999 national emergency service and arrested Swapna at the scene. Using digital tracking, authorities later apprehended her husband, Sohel Rana, in the Fatulla area of Narayanganj.
Ramisa’s father, Abdul Hannan Mollah, filed the case with Pallabi Police Station on May 20.
