Court fixes June 1 for Ramisa case charges
A Dhaka court on Sunday fixed June 1 for a hearing on the framing of charges in the case filed over the rape and murder of eight-year-old Ramisa in Pallabi, where the child was allegedly raped and later killed by having her throat slit.
Meanwhile, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said the trial in the Ramisa rape and murder case is expected to be completed within the next five to seven days.
Judge Masrur Salekeen of the Dhaka Metropolitan Child Violence Suppression Tribunal took cognisance of the charges against the accused and passed the order on Sunday afternoon.
Earlier in the day, police submitted a chargesheet to the court accusing Sohel Rana and his wife, Swapna Akter, in connection with the incident.
The court accepted the chargesheet and transferred the case to the Child Violence Suppression Tribunal for trial.
The investigating officer, Sub-Inspector Ahiduzzaman of Pallabi Police Station, submitted the chargesheet to the prosecution department.
SI Abul Kalam Azad of the prosecution department confirmed that the chargesheet was placed before the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Ashraful Haq.
Investigating officer SI Ahiduzzaman said charges of rape followed by murder had been proven against Sohel Rana, while charges of assisting in concealing the death following the rape had been established against Swapna Akter.
Speaking to reporters, the Home Minister said the Chief Justice was considering cancelling court holidays for the tribunal handling the Ramisa rape and murder case, while the Law Ministry was also examining the matter.
“Taking everything together, I hope the trial in the Ramisa rape and murder case will very likely be completed within five to seven days.
Everything necessary to ensure the maximum punishment for this crime will be done,” he said.
According to the case details, police recovered the headless body of Ramisa – a second-grade student of Popular Model High School – from beneath a bed in a flat in Pallabi, Mirpur, on the morning of May 19.
Her severed head was later recovered from a bathroom in the same flat.
A day after the killing, the victim’s father, Abdul Hannan Molla, filed a case with Pallabi Police Station naming neighbour Sohel Rana, his wife Swapna Akter, and an unidentified person as accused.
Initially, police detained Swapna Akter, the wife of prime accused Sohel Rana. Police later arrested Sohel Rana.
On May 20, the accused Sohel Rana reportedly confessed before a magistrate to raping and murdering Ramisa.
