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Published : 03 Jun 2026, 11:04 AM
A Dhaka court is scheduled to hear the defence arguments for Sohel Rana and Swapna Akter in the case of rape and murder of eight-year-old schoolgirl Ramisa Akter on Wednesday.
Judge Masrur Salekin of the Dhaka Metropolitan Child Violence Suppression Tribunal will hear the plea. Sohel and Swapna were brought to the court on Wednesday morning and kept in the lock-up.
Earlier on Tuesday, the witness deposition phase in the trial was completed. The court heard statements from 16 of 17 state witnesses.
The witnesses included Ramisa's father and plaintiff in the case Abdul Hannan Molla, mother Parveen Akhter, elder sister Raisa Akhter, aunt Mahmuda Akhter, uncle Mizanur Rahman Liton, fourth-floor resident Monir Hossain, neighbour Zakirul Islam Raju, second-floor resident Sheikh Abu Sama, aunt Moniruzzaman Shahin, constable Roma Akhter, constable Sharif Mia, SI Iqbal Hossain, doctor Nasad Jabin, Metropolitan Magistrate Aminul Islam Junaid, Sub Inspector Rashedul Islam and investigating officer SI Md Ohiduzzaman.
On May 19, police recovered the body of Ramisa from a flat in Block B of Section 11 in Pallabi. The incident sparked anger nationwide.
Investigators said the child was killed in the morning inside a neighbouring flat, after which the prime suspect Sohel allegedly dismembered the body before fleeing.
Police apprehended Swapna from the flat, while Sohel was later detained from Fatullah in Narayanganj the same evening.
He later confessed in court, according to police records.
The victim’s father filed a case at Pallabi Police Station on the day of the incident.
The investigating officer, Sub-Inspector Wahiduzzaman of Pallabi Police Station, submitted the chargesheet against the suspects on May 24, after which the case was transferred to the tribunal for trial.
After Eid holidays, Judge Masrur Salekin ordered the case to proceed to trial after framing charges against Sohel and his wife Swapna on Monday.
On his way from court to prison, Sohel spoke to reporters about Dollar, a man he was pinning the blame for the gruesome incident. He said he took Tk 200,000 from Dollar to discard the body of Ramisa, but Dollar raped and killed her.
