Two sentenced to death 19 days after incident, what the court said

A court has delivered its verdict just 19 days after an eight-year-old child was raped and brutally murdered in capital’s Pallabi area. In the judgment, the court sentenced the accused, Sohel Rana, and his wife, Swapna Akhter, to death.

In its observations, the court stated that the accused Sohel Rana was proven guilty based on the confessional statement of the accused, the testimony of the investigating officer, and the medical report. The court also noted that his wife, Swapna Akhter, was guilty of the same offence for providing all forms of assistance in the crime.

Judge Masrur Salekin of the Dhaka Metropolitan Children Violence Suppression Tribunal took the bench at 11:00 am today, Sunday. He then began reading out the verdict in the case and announced the judgment at 11:40 am.

In reviewing the verdict, the court further stated that the medical testimonies and evidence in the case proved the child was raped and subsequently murdered. This was also substantiated by the testimony of the police officer who prepared the inquest report.

Testimonies from witnesses 1 to 16 revealed that after the rape and murder, the accused Sohel Rana cut through the window grill and fled. During this time, the other accused, Swapna Akhter, was present in the flat. Instead of intervening to stop the murder and rape, she abetted the crime. Consequently, both accused, Sohel Rana and Swapna Akhter, are guilty of the same offence.

The court added in its observations that, based on all evidence and testimonies, it was proven that the accused Sohel Rana raped and murdered the child between 9:00 am and 11:00 am. The court also cited the confessional statement of the accused Sohel Rana, in which he admitted to raping and murdering the child.

The prime accused in the case, Sohel Rana, was escorted out of the prison van under police security at 8:50 am, while the other accused, Swapna Akhter, was brought down at 8:30 am, before both were placed in the holding cell of the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court.

The closing arguments from both the prosecution and the defence in this case concluded last Thursday. Following the arguments, the court set 7 June as the date for delivering the verdict. The child was raped and murdered on 19 May. Meaning, the verdict has been delivered 19 days after the incident.

On the day of the incident (19 May), before the child’s dismembered body was recovered from a flat on a building in Pallabi, the resident of the flat, accused Sohel, had already escaped by breaking the toilet window grill.

His wife, Swapna Akhter, was detained from the apartment at that time. Later that evening, Sohel Rana was arrested from Fatullah in Narayanganj. The child's father had filed a case with Pallabi Police Station regarding the incident.

On 20 May, both accused gave confessional statements before the court of Metropolitan Magistrate Aminul Islam Junaid in Dhaka. On 1 June, the tribunal framed charges against them and ordered to begin the trial. After completion of witness testimony, defense arguments, and closing arguments, the court set the date for the verdict.

Note: In accordance with the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act and Prothom Alo’s editorial policy, the identity and names of the child and her parents have not been disclosed in this report.