Verdict in Pallabi child rape-murder case 7 June

The verdict in the case filed over the rape and murder of an eight-year-old child in Dhaka's Pallabi will be delivered on 7 June.

Judge Masrur Salekin of the Dhaka Metropolitan Children Violence Suppression Tribunal fixed the date on Thursday on completion of arguments from both sides, said Special Public Prosecutor Azizur Rahman Dulu.

Earlier, on Wednesday, the tribunal heard self-defence statements from the two accused – Sohel Rana and his wife Swapna Akter – after the testimony phase in the case concluded within a single day on Tuesday.

Out of 18 witnesses, 16 made their depositions against prime accused Sohel Rana and his wife Swapna Akter before the tribunal. State-appointed defence counsel Musa Kalimullah cross-examined the witnesses.

The victim child’s father, who is also the plaintiff of the case, was the first to make his deposition, followed by her mother, elder sister and others.

In his deposition, the victim’s father recounted the horrifying sequence of events. After being informed by his wife that their youngest daughter was missing, he rushed home from his office.

Upon arriving, he found neighbours gathered outside the locked apartment of their neighbour Sohel Rana. The door lock was broken with a hammer.

“We broke into the apartment and saw blood stains in the bathroom. When we lifted the steel bed in the main room, we discovered my daughter’s decapitated body. Her severed head was hidden inside a bucket next to the bed,” the father told the court.

The victim’s mother provided a harrowing account of the morning of 19 May. She noted that while cooking, she heard a child’s scream emanating from Sohel Rana’s flat but initially assumed it was another infant.

Suspicion arose later when she noticed her own front door standing open and her youngest daughter missing. Upon searching the building, she found her daughter’s shoe right outside Sohel Rana’s door.

Due to her legal status as a minor, the victim’s elder sister testified under a “camera trial” (closed-door session) following an application by Special Public Prosecutor Azizul Haque Dulu.

Depositions were also recorded from the victim’s aunt, uncle, building residents, neighbours, police constables Ruma Akter and Sharif Mia, Sub-Inspector (SI) Iqbal Hosain who prepared the inquest report, physician Nasad Jamin who prepared the autopsy report, and Metropolitan Magistrate Aminul Islam Junaid who recorded the initial confessional statements, SI Rashedul Islam and Investigating Officer (IO) Ohiduzzaman.

On 1 June, the tribunal framed charges against the two accused in the case and fixed Tuesday for recording testimonies of witnesses.

Before that, on 24 May, the IO – Sub-Inspector Ohiduzzaman of Pallabi police station – submitted the charge sheet before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court of Dhaka. Later, the case was transferred to the tribunal.

The child was allegedly raped and murdered by Sohel Rana, a tenant of a neighbouring flat, on 19 May.

According to the case details, accused Sohel lured her into his room and later killed her after rape.

Ramisa’s decapitated body was found beneath the bed while her severed head was found inside a bucket in the bathroom.

While Swapna Akter was detained from the scene, Sohel Rana managed to escape by cutting through a window grille.

He was tracked down and arrested by police later in Fatullah of Narayanganj.