Saturday, 6th June 2026
Khabor Wala Desk
Published: 6th June 2026, 7:37 PM
The Dhaka Metropolitan Suppression of Violence Against Children Tribunal is scheduled to deliver its verdict today, Sunday, 7 June 2026, in the case concerning the rape and subsequent decapitation of an eight-year-old girl, Ramisa Akter, in the Pallabi area of Mirpur, Dhaka. The principal accused in the case are Sohel Rana and his wife, Swapna Akter. The date for the judgment was finalised on Thursday by the Tribunal Judge, Masroor Salekin, following the completion of arguments presented by both the prosecution and the defence in the presence of the accused.
Pankaj Peter Gomez, the Bench Assistant of the relevant court, officially confirmed the schedule for the verdict. According to judicial sources, the primary accused, Sohel Rana, and his wife, Swapna Akter, will be transported from prison under heavy police escort and kept in the Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court lock-up facility. From there, they will be brought directly before the Suppression of Violence Against Children Tribunal prior to the commencement of the court session. Law enforcement sources responsible for court security have stated that special police forces have been deployed across the lower courts in Dhaka to reinforce security measures in anticipation of this high-profile judgment.
The judicial proceedings for this specific case reached their final stage with unprecedented velocity, concluding within nineteen days of the incident. The formal case was registered at midnight on 19 May 2026 (effectively 20 May 2026). Within five days of the filing, on 24 May 2026, the investigating officer, Sub-Inspector (SI) Ohiduzzaman of Pallabi Police Station, submitted the formal charge sheet to the court.
On the exact same day, the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court, presided over by Magistrate Md Ashraful Haq, accepted the charge sheet, declared the case fit for trial, and directed its transfer to the Dhaka Metropolitan Suppression of Violence Against Children Tribunal. Judge Masroor Salekin accepted the case documents at the tribunal on that very day.
To ensure a swift resolution, the regular judicial vacation scheduled for the Eid-ul-Adha holidays was canceled by specific administrative order to allow the hearings to proceed. On 1 June 2026, the tribunal formally framed charges against the two accused individuals in their presence. Concurrently, summonses were issued for eighteen prosecution witnesses, including the plaintiff, to appear before the court the following day.
On 2 June 2026, sixteen witnesses, including the child’s father, appeared in court and rendered their testimonies. The tribunal completed both the recording of testimonies and the cross-examinations within a single working day. Following the conclusion of the witness testimonies, the judge scheduled the examination of the accused under Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for 30 June 2026.
During the examination hearing on 3 June 2026, the prime accused, Sohel Rana, confessed to his direct involvement in the crime and sought clemency from the court. Conversely, his wife, Swapna Akter, maintained her innocence. Upon concluding the session, the court scheduled the presentation of arguments for 4 June 2026.
On Thursday, 4 June 2026, Special Public Prosecutor Azizur Rahman Dulu represented the state, whilst the state-appointed defence counsel, Mussa Kalimullah, presented arguments on behalf of the accused. Following these presentations, the court set today as the date for the final judgment. Court officials noted that the speed of this trial is highly unusual for rape and murder cases in Bangladesh, where investigative reports, trial initiations, and witness examinations traditionally span several years.
The prosecution has demanded the maximum penalty of the death sentence for both accused individuals. The state-appointed defence counsel, Mussa Kalimullah, noting Sohel Rana’s confession, argued for a sentence of life imprisonment for the prime accused. Regarding Swapna Akter, the defence counsel argued that she should receive a maximum sentence of seven years under Section 201 of the Penal Code for providing assistance after the fact.
When questioned regarding the timeframe for the potential execution of the verdict, Special Public Prosecutor Azizur Rahman Dulu stated that the execution schedule depends entirely on the directives of the higher judiciary. He remarked:
“We are seeking the maximum penalty of death in this matter, but the final decision rests solely with the tribunal. Following a verdict in the trial court, a death-row convict has access to various stages of appeal in the higher judiciary, as well as the constitutional right to seek a presidential pardon. The law must take its natural course. However, the Honourable Chief Justice retains the administrative authority to constitute a special bench to expedite the final disposal of the case if deemed appropriate.”
During the argument phase, Special Public Prosecutor Azizur Rahman Dulu read aloud the specific charges against Sohel Rana and Swapna Akter, alongside the original complaint filed by Ramisa’s father, Abdul Hannan Molla. He also detailed the depositions of the witnesses, noting that every testifying witness stated they had personally witnessed the decapitated body of the victim.
Addressing a point raised regarding the alleged involvement of a separate individual named “Dollar”, the prosecutor clarified that Sohel Rana had not mentioned any such accomplice during his initial statutory confession. The prosecutor argued that this narrative was likely developed by the accused through discussions with other inmates during his period of detention. He emphasized that the prime accused had ultimately confessed to his guilt voluntarily during the court proceedings.
Regarding the complicity of Swapna Akter, the prosecution argued that upon discovering the situation, she failed to alert neighbours or authorities, and instead actively assisted Sohel Rana in his attempt to evade arrest by escaping through a window. The prosecutor stated that her continuous presence at the scene and failure to report the crime demonstrated her active assistance. Furthermore, addressing the lack of closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage from the day of the incident, the prosecutor explained to the tribunal that the specific locality within the Pallabi area lacked developed surveillance infrastructure at that time.
The prosecution arguments concluded at 1:30 PM, after which the state-appointed defence counsel, Mussa Kalimullah, commenced his arguments at 1:31 PM. The defence counsel argued that a conviction cannot be sustained solely on the basis of a confession statement, and questioned the admissibility of statements made by an accused individual under the influence of intoxicating substances. In response, Prosecutor Dulu noted that there was no evidentiary proof establishing that the accused was intoxicated at the time of the offence. The defence counsel conceded this point, and the court subsequently closed the arguments to set the date for the final verdict.
According to the formal case dossier, the victim, Ramisa Akter, was an eight-year-old second-grade student at the Popular Model High School. On 19 May 2026, at approximately 9:30 AM, the child left her residential quarters. The accused, Swapna Akter, allegedly enticed the child into her flat. At approximately 10:30 AM, when Ramisa’s parents began searching for her to send her to school, they noticed the child’s shoes outside the door of the suspects’ apartment.
Receiving no response after knocking repeatedly, the parents, alongside other residents of the building, forced entry into the flat. They discovered the decapitated body of Ramisa Akter on the bedroom floor, while her head was found inside a large bucket within the room.
When confronted at the scene, Swapna Akter stated to the witnesses that her husband, Sohel Rana, had confined the child inside the bathroom, assaulted her, and subsequently murdered her to conceal the act. Following the registration of the case by Abdul Hannan Molla, the police initially arrested Swapna Akter at the scene, and later apprehended Sohel Rana in the Fatullah area of Narayanganj district. Sohel Rana subsequently gave a statutory confession admitting guilt before the magistrate court, and both suspects were remanded to judicial custody.
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