A Dhaka tribunal on Sunday sentenced Sohel Rana and his wife Swapna Akhter to death for the brutal rape and murder of eight-year-old Ramisa Akter in Pallabi, capital’s Mirpur area.
Judge Masrur Salekin of the Dhaka Metropolitan Child Violence Suppression Tribunal delivered the verdict around 11:40am. The court also fined Sohail Rana Tk5 lakh and Swapna Akhter Tk2 lakh.
The judge ordered that the convicts be hanged by the neck until death.
Reading out the summary of the verdict, the judge said the prosecution had successfully proven that Ramisa was raped and then killed on the morning of 19 May.
Citing the testimony of Nasat Jabin of Sohrawardi College and the autopsy report prepared by SI Iqbal, the court said medical evidence confirmed the rape and murder.
The judge also referred to Sohel Rana’s confessional statement recorded before a magistrate.
“I brought her to the bathroom of my room, raped her, then killed her. When people outside started shouting, I tried to dismember the body. I cut off her head and put it in a bucket,” the court quoted Sohel as saying.
The court found that Swapna Akhter was inside the flat at the time of the crime and did nothing to stop her husband. Instead, she helped him escape by cutting through a grill.
“Swapna Akhter is guilty of the same crime as Sohail Rana. She did not resist, nor did she try to save the child. She actively helped the accused flee,” the judge said.
The convicts were brought to court under heavy security earlier in the morning. Sohel Rana arrived at 8:50am and Swapna Akhter at 8:30am. They were produced before the judge at around 10:45am and 10:56am respectively.
Both were handcuffed, wearing bulletproof jackets and helmets.
During the reading of the verdict, Swapna was seen crying while sitting on a plastic chair in the dock. Sohail Rana stood silently, leaning against the wall.
The victim’s father, who came to hear the verdict, fell ill during the proceedings. Around 11:11am, he showed signs of distress. Those present brought a fan to cool him down, and someone wiped his sweat with a cloth. He kept his head bowed throughout the verdict.
According to case details, Ramisa was a second-grade student at Popular Model High School. On the morning of 19 May, accused Swapna Akhter lured her into their room, where she was raped and then murdered.
When the child went missing, her mother launched a search and eventually spotted Ramisa’s shoes in front of the accused’s room. Receiving no response to her calls, neighbours helped her break down the door, and Ramisa’s mutilated body was recovered from inside.
Police were alerted through the national emergency number 999. They arrested Swapna on the spot, while Sohel Rana was later arrested from Fatullah in Narayanganj with the help of technology.
Ramisa’s father, Abdul Hannan Molla, filed a case at Pallabi Police Station on 20 May. Sohel Rana later confessed to his crime in a statement before the court.
Police submitted the charge sheet on 24 May. Charges were framed against the accused on 1 June. The court recorded testimony from 16 out of 18 witnesses before delivering the verdict on Sunday.
