Death reference sent to High Court after Ramisa murder verdict.
The three-page death reference along with the 69-page judgment in the case filed over the rape and murder of second-grade student Ramisa Akter was sent to the High Court today.
“Dhaka Metropolitan Children’s Violence Suppression Tribunal office assistant Shahidul Islam left for the concerned wing of the High Court with the documents at 3:40 pm,” bench official Pankaj Peter Gomez told BSS.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Children's Violence Suppression Tribunal on June 7 convicted Sohel Rana and his wife Swapna Akter and sentenced them to death in child Ramisa rape and murder case, which is among the fastest-disposed major rape-murder cases in the country's judicial history. It also fined Sohel Rana Taka five lakh and Swapna Akter Taka two lakh.
Ramisa, a class-II student of Popular Model High School, was allegedly raped and beheaded by her neighbour, Sohel Rana, at his flat in the Millat Camp area of Pallabi on May 19. Her father filed the case the following day.
On May 23, the government appointed Advocate Azizur Rahman Dulu as special public prosecutor to conduct the trial on behalf of the state before the Dhaka Metropolitan Children's Violence Suppression Tribunal, a newly constituted court dealing exclusively with cases of violence against children.
Police submitted a charge sheet on May 24 against alleged rapist and killer Sohel Rana and his wife and alleged accomplice Swapna Akter.
On the same day, the government appointed Advocate Musa Kalimullah as state defence counsel to represent the accused before the tribunal.
The tribunal framed charges in the case on June 1, while it completed recording the depositions of prosecution witnesses (PWs) in a single day on June 2. Sixteen of the 18 listed PWs testified and were subsequently cross-examined by the defence on that day.
On June 3, the two accused, Sohel Rana and his wife Swapna Akter, made their self-defence statements before the court, where Sohel Rana sought mercy, while Swapna Akter claimed complete innocence and prayed for justice.
The legal arguments in the case were held on June 4, when the prosecution sought the maximum punishment for both accused.
