Zakir Hossain from Dhaka
A Dhaka court on Sunday sentenced a man and his wife to death for the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl whose beheaded body was found at their residence last month, bringing swift closure to a case that triggered widespread protests across Bangladesh.
Judge Masrur Salekin of the Dhaka Metropolitan Tribunal for the Prevention of Violence Against Children pronounced the verdict at 11:37am in a packed courtroom, sentencing prime accused Sohel Rana, 31, and his wife Swapna Akter, 26, to capital punishment.
The judgment came just 19 days after the horrific incident on May 19 in Dhaka’s Pallabi area that sparked nationwide outrage and prompted the Bangladesh government to pledge swift justice.
“The tribunal completed the trial proceedings in five hearings,” bench assistant Pankoj Peter Gomes told reporters after the verdict.
The crime that shocked a nation: Ramisa Akter, a Class 2 student of Popular Model High School, was found beheaded on May 19 inside the house of her neighbour, Sohel Rana. According to the case filed by Ramisa’s father Abdul Hannan Mollah at Pallabi Police Station the following day, Sohel had lured the child into his room and raped her.
Investigators said Sohel subsequently slit her throat and attempted to dismember the body to conceal the crime.
Swift trial proceedings: The charge sheet was submitted on May 24 by investigating officer Ohiduzzaman, a sub-inspector of Pallabi Police Station, before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court. Sohel was charged with rape, murder and destruction of evidence, while Swapna faced charges of destruction of evidence, providing false information and assisting her husband in committing the offence.
The CMM Court transferred the case to the Children Violence Suppression Tribunal the same day.
On June 1, the tribunal framed charges against the accused, and testimony was completed the following day. A total of 16 prosecution witnesses, including the victim’s parents and elder sister, three neighbours, a doctor, a Dhaka metropolitan magistrate and the investigator, gave their statements before the tribunal.
Prosecution sought maximum punishment: During closing arguments last Thursday, the prosecution had demanded the death penalty for both accused. The defence had requested life imprisonment for Sohel Rana and a lesser sentence for Swapna.
The verdict has generated widespread discussion in legal circles in Bangladesh, with many viewing the swift trial as a model for handling cases involving violence against children.