Lower court forwards death reference documents for Ramisa ‘rape’-murder case to High Court

The trial court transfers the full record after awarding death sentences to two convicts

The complete case file including the capital punishment verdict of Sohel Rana and Swapna Akter over the rape and murder of 8-year-old Ramisa Akter in Pallabi has been transferred to the High Court.

On Tuesday, Dhaka Metropolitan Child Repression Prevention Tribunal Judge Masrur Salekin ordered the case documents to be forwarded for death reference hearing following the verdict.

Bench Assistant Pankaj Peter Gomez said the 69-page judgment copy along with a three-page death reference and a total of 72 pages of documents were wrapped in red cloth and sent to the High Court’s death reference branch.

A subordinate court official said the case docket reached the branch around 4pm on Tuesday.

On Sunday, the tribunal sentenced Sohel and Swapna to death in the case.

Sohel was also fined Tk 500,000 and Swapna Tk 200,000, with instructions that the fines be recovered by selling their movable and immovable assets and handed over to the victim’s family.

Law Minister Asaduzzaman Khan has expressed hope that the verdict could be carried out within three months after completion of the death reference proceedings and appeal hearings.

Speaking at the Secretariat after the verdict, he said: “My expectation is that it can be resolved within the next three months if the relevant Supreme Court bench prioritises the hearing. I hope the Supreme Court will do so.”