Sixteen Witnesses Give Evidence In Child Murder Trial

The harrowing circumstances surrounding the rape and subsequent murder of a young child, Ramisa Akhtar, in the Pallabi neighbourhood of Dhaka have been detailed in court through consecutive testimonies. The victim’s relatives, neighbours, and eyewitnesses presented their accounts before the Dhaka Metropolitan Child Violence Suppression Tribunal on Tuesday, 2 June 2026, reconstructing the sequence of events surrounding the crime.

Sixteen Witnesses Present Formal Testimony Before Tribunal

A total of sixteen individuals, including the child’s father, mother, and elder sister, completed their formal depositions before the judicial tribunal. The presented evidence concentrated heavily on the discovery of the victim’s decapitated body, the bloodstained state of the flat where the crime occurred, and the immediate evasion of law enforcement by the primary accused, Sohel Rana.

The victim’s father and the complainant in the case, Abdul Hannan Molla, testified that he left his residence on the morning of the incident to commute to his workplace. As his office was located in the Kakoli area, he was travelling via the Cantonment route when the crisis began.

Between approximately 10:00 am and 10:15 am, his wife, Parvin Akter, placed an urgent telephone call requesting his immediate return to the residence. Molla informed the tribunal:

“It took me approximately 25 to 30 minutes to return to the apartment building after receiving the phone call. Upon my arrival, I observed a substantial crowd of people gathered directly in front of our residential flat. I immediately proceeded upstairs.”

Molla added that his wife had been repeatedly knocking on the door of the adjacent flat for a considerable duration, but no one from within responded or opened it. He subsequently attempted to force entry, ultimately utilising a hammer to break the lock of the door to gain access into the premises. Upon entering, he discovered traces of blood on the floor directly in front of the toilet area. He explicitly noted under oath that he had no prior acquaintance with the defendants before the occurrence of the crime.

Mother Recalls Distant Scream And Fruitless Search

The victim’s mother, Parvin Akter, provided an account of her actions on the day of the incident, stating that she was engaged in preparing a meal in the kitchen. As she was finishing her cooking, she became deeply concerned upon realising she could not locate her daughter. Her elder daughter had previously mentioned that the young child was inside the residence, leaving the mother unaware that Ramisa had gone outside.

Recalling the exact period of the crime, Parvin Akter stated:

“Whilst cooking, I distinctly heard a single scream. At that particular moment, I assumed that perhaps a child from an adjacent apartment was crying out. Later, when my elder daughter returned, I enquired about my younger daughter’s whereabouts. She informed me that Ramisa had not accompanied her outside.”

This prompted an immediate search throughout the building, including the ground floor, an office room, and a bachelor quarter. The search shifted focus when Parvin discovered one of her daughter’s shoes placed directly in front of a third-floor flat adjacent to her own. She testified that she then realised the scream she had heard earlier belonged to her child.

In an account before the court, she described pleading repeatedly with the resident inside, named Swapna, to open the entrance door, to no avail. Despite persistent knocking by both the mother and neighbours, the occupants refused to respond. Following the forced entry by the gathered crowd, bloodstains were discovered, and the body was located. Parvin Akter stated to the tribunal that the accused, Swapna Akter, subsequently informed the gathered crowd that the co-accused, Sohel Rana, had committed the rape and murder before fleeing the premises.

Relatives And Neighbours Describe Crime Scene Conditions

Further details regarding the condition of the crime scene were provided by the victim’s paternal aunt and uncle. The aunt testified that her husband had phoned her to report the child missing. Upon her arrival at the flat, she found a scene of severe distress. She located Ramisa’s decapitated body placed underneath a bed on one side of the room while police personnel were preparing the initial inquest report. During cross-examination, she clarified that she witnessed the severed body but did not witness the act of assault itself.

The victim’s uncle, Mizanur Rahman Liton, testified that he was travelling on the Dhaka Metro Rail network when his wife phoned to inform him of the disappearance. Upon reaching the scene, he observed blood on the floor and discovered Ramisa’s severed head placed inside a large bucket, noting that her neck and hands bore severe incised wounds. He formally identified the two accused individuals present in the courtroom, Sohel Rana and Swapna Khatun.

Monir Hossain, a resident of the same building, stated that he heard a disturbance between 10:00 am and 11:00 am and descended the stairs to find Ramisa’s mother knocking frantically on Sohel Rana’s door. After the door was breached, he observed Swapna standing inside the flat. A secondary internal gate remained locked, and upon opening it, the child’s body was discovered.

Another neighbour, Jakirul Islam Rajon, testified that he entered the flat after hearing the mother’s cries. He initially observed discarded clothing inside the bathroom, followed by bloodstains. When questioned at the scene, Swapna claimed total ignorance of the situation. Rajon stated that upon lifting the bed, they discovered the victim’s unclothed body, with the severed head placed inside a bucket.

Eyewitness Identification And Prosecution Statements

A neighbour named Abu Sama provided eyewitness testimony regarding the flight of the primary accused. He informed the tribunal that he was eating breakfast at approximately 10:00 am when he observed a shirtless man climbing down the exterior window of the adjacent apartment. Assuming the individual was a burglar, Abu Sama shouted out to alert the neighbourhood. Shortly thereafter, he heard screams emanating from the building and discovered the murder. During his cross-examination, he confirmed that he subsequently verified the identity of the fleeing individual as Sohel Rana after viewing photographs broadcast in the media.

An additional witness, Moniruzzaman Shahin, verified that he observed a thin knife at the scene of the crime alongside the child’s head inside the bucket. A police officer, Ruma Akter, also gave testimony, the full documentation of which was scheduled for complete presentation later in the judicial proceedings.

Following the conclusion of the day’s legal arguments, the state prosecutor, Azizul Rahman Dulu, addressed members of the press. He stated that the witnesses had provided critical and consistent testimonies that substantiated the state’s case. He emphasised that the depositions of the parents offered a comprehensive account of the crime scene, whilst additional testimonies successfully tracked the path of the accused, Sohel Rana, who cut through a window grill to escape the flat after committing the offence.