Dhaka – A Bangladeshi court on Sunday sentenced a couple to death for the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Dhaka’s Mirpur neighborhood nearly three weeks ago, officials said.
Judge Masrur Salekin of Dhaka Metropolitan Children’s Violence Suppression Tribunal pronounced the verdict against Sohel Rana and his wife Swapna Akter, the two accused in the rape and murder of the minor girl.
The verdict in the case came only 19 days after the crime was committed and is considered one of the fastest-disposed cases in the country’s judicial history.
According to the case statement, Ramisa, a second-grader at Mirpur’s Popular Model High School, was allegedly raped and beheaded by her neighbor, Sohel Rana, in his flat in the Millat Camp area of Pallabi on May 19. His wife allegedly assisted him in committing the crimes.
Her father filed the case the following day. The rape and brutal murder of the minor girl caused a hue and cry across the country, with netizens demanding immediate and exemplary punishment for the perpetrators.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman visited the bereaved family and assured a speedy trial into the incident.
The defendants were produced before the court as the judge began reading out the verdict. The court also fined Sohel Rana 500,000 takas and Swapna Akter 200,000 takas.
Security was tightened ahead of the verdict, with the deployment of three additional platoons of police in and around the court premises, in addition to regular police forces.
The tribunal framed charges against Rana and his wife on June 1 and completed legal arguments on June 4, paving the way for the verdict within a week of the indictment.
On May 23, the government appointed Advocate Azizur Rahman Dulu as special public prosecutor to conduct the trial on behalf of the state before the Dhaka Metropolitan Children’s Violence Suppression Tribunal, a newly constituted court dealing exclusively with cases of violence against children.
Police submitted a charge sheet on May 24 against alleged rapist and killer Sohel Rana and his wife.
On the same day, the government appointed Advocate Musa Kalimullah as state defense counsel to represent the accused before the tribunal.
The tribunal framed charges in the case on June 1, while it completed recording the depositions of prosecution witnesses in a single day on June 2. Sixteen of the 18 listed witnesses testified and were subsequently cross-examined by the defense that day.
