Death Penalty for Sohel and Swapna in Ramisa Murder Case
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A Dhaka court has sentenced Sohel Rana and his wife Swapna Akhter to death in the widely discussed case of the rape and murder of child Ramisa Akhter in Pallabi.
On Sunday, Judge Masrur Saleheen of the Dhaka Metropolitan Child Violence Suppression Tribunal delivered the verdict.
Earlier that day, Swapna Akhter was brought to court from Kashimpur Central Jail at around 8:25 AM, while Sohel Rana was brought from Keraniganj Central Jail at around 8:45 AM. They were later kept in the lock-up of the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court.
Police recovered Ramisa’s body from the couple’s apartment on May 19 in Pallabi, Dhaka. On the same day, the victim’s father filed a case at Pallabi Police Station naming Sohel Rana and Swapna Akhter as accused, and both were arrested shortly afterward.
On May 20, Sohel Rana gave a confessional statement in court. On May 24, the investigating officer, Sub-Inspector Ohidujjaman of Pallabi Police Station, submitted a charge sheet against both accused. The Metropolitan Magistrate Ashraful Haque accepted the charge sheet the same day and sent the case to the Child Violence Suppression Tribunal for trial, where charges were formally framed.
After the Eid holidays, the trial began on June 1. On the following day, testimony from 16 witnesses—including the victim’s parents and sister was completed within just four hours. On June 3, during self-defense proceedings, Sohel Rana confessed to his crime and sought forgiveness from the court, while Swapna Akhter claimed she was innocent. After closing arguments on June 4, the court set June 7 for the verdict.
Professor Dr. Sarkar Ali Akkas of the Department of Law at Jagannath University said that post-verdict procedures must also be completed promptly, and emphasized that justice should be ensured within a reasonable timeframe not only in this case but in all cases.
