In a system notorious for agonising trial delays, justice for eight-year-old Ramisa is finally down to a matter of days.
Following a blistering, fast-tracked four-day hearing, Judge Masrur Salekin of the Dhaka Metropolitan Child Repression Prevention Tribunal on Thursday wrapped up closing arguments and set Sunday to deliver the verdict in the brutal rape and murder case.
Following the Eid holidays, the court moved rapidly, allocating one day each for framing charges, defence testimony, and closing arguments.
The state has sought the death penalty for the primary accused, Sohel Rana, and legal punishment for his wife, Swapna Akhter.
Conversely, the state-appointed defence counsel requested life imprisonment for Sohel and a seven-year sentence for Swapna.
State lawyer Azizur Rahman Dulu argued that the testimonies of 16 witnesses definitively proved the crime.
“Accused Sohel Rana took the child, Ramisa, into the bathroom, raped her, and slit her throat before escaping. Swapna Akhter cooperated in these acts,” Dulu told the court, noting that Sohel had also confessed to his guilt during Wednesday’s defence hearing. Omar Faruq Faruqi, public prosecutor of the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court, was also present.
State-appointed defence counsel Musa Kalimullah countered that the investigation relied too heavily on confessions.
“The charge sheet was filed based on statements, but the knife used in the killing was never forensically examined. A conclusive sentence cannot be handed down based on this,” he argued.
He noted that while Sohel gave a self-incriminating statement, he was intoxicated at the time, grounds which Kalimullah argued justify life imprisonment rather than the death penalty.
Regarding Swapna, he argued she was only implicated in concealing the body and should be penalised strictly under Section 201 of the Penal Code.
The proceedings began Thursday morning. Sohel Rana was transferred to court custody from jail at 9:00am and produced in court at 11:24am. Swapna Akhter was brought in 15 minutes later. Proceedings commenced at 11:45am when the judge entered the courtroom.
The brutal murder on 19 May sparked widespread public outrage. The victim’s dismembered body was recovered from Sohel’s third-floor flat.
Sohel Rana fled the scene by breaking a toilet window grill but was arrested later that evening in Fatulla, Narayanganj. Swapna was arrested from their home. The victim’s father filed a case the following day, and Sohel gave a confessional statement before Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Aminul Islam Junaid that afternoon.
The case drew high-profile political attention, with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed visiting the victim’s family.
Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman had previously announced that the trial would begin on 1 June.
True to the timeline, charges were framed on Monday, 16 witnesses testified on Tuesday, and defence statements were recorded on Wednesday.
During Wednesday’s session, Swapna maintained her innocence. Meanwhile, Sohel offered a contradictory plea, begging for forgiveness while attempting to shift partial blame to an accomplice.
“Sir, I am innocent… Please forgive me,” Sohel reportedly stated, claiming he only cut the body into two pieces while alleging a man named “Dollar” actually raped and killed the child after paying Tk2,00,000 to procure her.
However, investigators dismissed the claim as a delay tactic, and neither the prosecution nor the defence lawyers gave the allegation any weight.
