A special tribunal in Dhaka has fixed June 7 for delivering the verdict in the sensational rape and murder case of eight-year-old Ramisa Akter, whose killing in the capital's Pallabi area sparked widespread public outrage.
Judge Masrur Salekin of the Dhaka Metropolitan Child Violence Suppression Tribunal set the date after hearing final arguments from both prosecution and defence on Thursday. The tribunal passed this order at 1:36 pm.
On Thursday, around 11:45 am, Judge Masrur Salekin arrived at the tribunal. Following this, Public Prosecutor Advocate Azizur Rahman Dulu began the arguments.
Around 9:00 am, the principal accused, Sohel Rana, was brought from prison in a prison van and kept in the court lockup.
Later, at 11:24 am, the police produced him before the court. The accused, Swapna Akter, was produced before the court at 11:39 am. Since Swapna Akter was ill, she came from hospital.
During the hearing, the PP said that the prosecution has successfully proven all charges against the principal accused Sohel Rana, beyond reasonable doubt, through witness testimonies, forensic evidence and his own confession.
The state counsel also demanded capital punishment for the accused, Sohel Rana, convicting him under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act.
Mentioning Swapna's cooperation in Sohel's crime and her failure to prevent it, the counsel demanded her lawful punishment.
"The evidence clearly shows that Sohel Rana committed the rape and murder while in a sound state of mind," the prosecutor argued during his submission before the tribunal, rejecting claims that the accused had been under the influence of drugs at the time of the offence.
The prosecutor also alleged that Sohel's wife, Swapna, failed to prevent the crime despite having the opportunity to do so.
He further stated that she assisted in concealing evidence and helped the accused evade arrest after the incident.
The PP said, "What the accused said regarding 'Dollar' was only to create confusion in the case. Because the accused did not say any such thing in the Section 164 statement. He did not mention the name of Dollar at that time. After going to jail under Section 164, the accused adopted such a tactic under the ill-advice of other accused to prolong the case".
The lawyer also stated that the accused did not mention anyone named 'Dollar' anywhere in his Examination-in-Chief.
He spoke such misleading words to create suspicion within the case.
Earlier, the state counsel read out the depositions of 16 witnesses and said that "Everyone supported each other's testimonies. Everyone saw the decapitated body. There is no disagreement here."
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