Ramisa killing trial: Testifying ends in a day, arguments today

A special tribunal in Dhaka yesterday completed recording witness testimony in a single day in the case filed over the rape and murder of eight-year-old schoolgirl Ramisa Akter. The proceeding came just a day after charges were framed against prime accused Sohel Rana, 31, and his wife, Swapna Khatun, 26, over the May 19 crime that sparked nationwide outrage and prompted the government to pledge swift justice. Judge Masrur Salekin of the Children Violence Suppression Tribunal in Dhaka Metropolitan recorded statements from 16 prosecution witnesses, bench assistant Pankoj Peter Gomes told The Daily Star. The witnesses included the victim’s parents and elder sister, three neighbours, a doctor, a Dhaka metropolitan magistrate and the investigating officer, said Special Public Prosecutor Azizur Rahman Dulu.

The court is scheduled to examine the accused and hear arguments today. Supreme Court lawyer Musa Kalimullah represented the accused as state defence counsel and cross-examined the witnesses. Ramisa’s father, Abdul Hannan Mollah, was the first witness. At one stage, he became emotional and, after feeling unwell, obtained the court’s permission to continue his testimony while seated.

He said he left home for work around 9:30am on May 19 and was later informed by his wife that Ramisa was missing. After returning home, he found a crowd gathered outside the building. His wife told him Ramisa was trapped inside a neighbouring flat, whose occupants were not responding despite repeated requests to open the door. “A man was already trying to break the lock… I then ran downstairs, brought a hammer, and tried to break the lock. Other people also joined in.” “Eventually, the lock broke… After entering, … I saw blood inside one of the toilets.

At that time, I saw Swapna standing silently. The room where the accused lived was locked. One of the people present lifted a steel bed and found Ramisa’s head inside a bucket. Then, I lost consciousness,” he said.

He added, “Later, the police arrived and completed the necessary procedures. Afterwards, I went to the police station and filed the case based on these events.” Then Ramisa’s mother, Parveen Akhter, testified. She said while she was cooking that morning, she asked her elder daughter, Raisa, to visit her uncle’s house. Ramisa also wanted to go, but Raisa left without her, and Parveen did not realise the child had gone out alone. “While I was in the kitchen, I heard screams.

I thought it was the child from the neighbouring flat making noise. A little later, I noticed that our door was open.” Parveen continued: “A short while later, Raisa returned home alone. I asked her, ‘Why are you alone? Where is Ramisa?’ I went downstairs but could not find Ramisa there.

I asked people whether they had seen her.” She said she had noticed one of her daughter’s shoes in front of the door of the accused’s flat on the second floor. “I knocked on the door, but no one responded. Then I screamed. People from different flats came over. They also knocked on the door, but no one opened it.

Later, 10 or 12 people came upstairs. By that time, my husband had returned from work.” She further said, “After the door was opened and we went inside, I saw the bathroom was flooded with blood. I saw my daughter’s head in one place and her body in another. At that time, I saw Swapna inside the flat.” Pointing to Swapna in the dock, Parveen said she repeatedly pleaded with Swapna, a neighbour on the same floor, to open the door, but she did not.

She also pointed to Sohel and stated: “Later I heard that he [Sohel] raped my daughter, murdered her, and escaped by cutting through the window grill.” Raisa testified via camera because she is a minor, according to the prosecution. The day’s proceedings concluded with testimony from investigating officer Ohiduzzaman, a sub-inspector of Pallabi Police Station. Amid growing public anger, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on May 23 said the maximum punishment for Ramisa’s killer would be ensured within a month, while Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed promised an exemplary trial at the earliest. The swift proceedings have been welcomed by rights activists.

Supreme Court lawyer Ishrat Hasan praised the expeditious trial and expressed hope that all child rape and murder cases would receive the same urgency. “Justice should not be fast-tracked only in a few high-profile cases; every victim deserves timely justice,” she said. Fahmida Akhter, a lawyer with the Bangladesh National Women Lawyers’ Association who works with rape survivors at the One Stop Crisis Centre of Dhaka Medical College Hospital, said, “When the charge sheet is filed quickly, and the judicial process is completed within a short period, it reinforces the rule of law and increases public confidence in justice. Such confidence can also help deter future crimes.” Ramisa, a second-grade student of Popular Model High School, was found beheaded in the flat of her neighbour Sohel on May 19. The next day, her father filed a case with Pallabi Police Station against the couple and an unidentified person.

According to the case statement, Sohel took Ramisa to his room and raped her. Investigators said he later slit her throat and attempted to dismember the body to conceal the crime. On May 24, SI Ohiduzzaman submitted the charge sheet to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court in Dhaka, accusing Sohel of rape, murder and destruction of evidence, and Swapna of destruction of evidence and providing false information. The charge sheet named 18 prosecution witnesses.

Several hours later, the CMM Court transferred the case to the Children Violence Suppression Tribunal for trial.