A special tribunal here is set to deliver its verdict on Sunday, 7 June, in the sensational rape and murder case of second-grade student Ramisa Akter, with the prosecution seeking the death penalty for the two accused, Sohel Rana and his wife Swapna Akter.
“We expect the highest punishment, the death penalty, for Sohel Rana and his wife Swapna Akter. It is our expectation that the learned tribunal, in its wisdom, will hand down the maximum punishment of death to the accused,” Special Public Prosecutor Azizur Rahman Dulu said.
State-appointed defence counsel Advocate Musa Kalimullah said that they expect justice.
Judge Masrur Salekin of the Dhaka Metropolitan Children’s Violence Suppression Tribunal on 4 June set Sunday for pronouncing the judgement after both the prosecution and defence concluded their arguments on that day.
Ramisa, a Class-II student of Popular Model High School, was allegedly raped and beheaded by her neighbour Sohel Rana at his flat in the Millat Camp area of Pallabi on 19 May.
Accused Swapna Akter and Sohel Rana were arrested the same day.
Ramisa’s father filed the case the following day.
On 23 May, 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 24 May against alleged rapist and killer Sohel Rana and his wife and alleged accomplice Swapna Akter.
On the same day, the government appointed Advocate Musa Kalimullah as state defence counsel to represent the accused before the tribunal.
The tribunal framed charges in the case on 1 June and completed recording the depositions of prosecution witnesses (PWs) in a single day on 2 June. Sixteen of the 18 listed PWs testified and were subsequently cross-examined by the defence on the same day.
On 3 June, the two accused, Sohel Rana and his wife Swapna Akter, made their self-defence statements before the court, where Sohel Rana sought mercy, while Swapna Akter claimed complete innocence and prayed for justice.
On 4 June, the prosecution presented its legal arguments in the case and sought the maximum punishment for both accused.
