10 witnesses testify in rape and murder case of child Ramisa in the capital

The testimony of 10 out of 18 witnesses included in the charge sheet in the case of the rape and murder of eight-year-old child Ramisa in Pallabi, Mirpur, has been completed.

On Tuesday (June 2), the testimony of the plaintiff and victim's father Abdul Hannan Mollah began in the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Child Violence Prevention Tribunal Judge Masrur Salekin. After that, the victim's mother Parveen Akhter, elder sister Raisa Akhter, aunt Mahmuda Akhter, uncle Mizanur Rahman Liton, fourth-floor resident Monir Hossain, neighbor Zakirul Islam Raju, second-floor resident Sheikh Abu Sama, aunt Moniruzzaman Shahin and constable Roma Akhter testified in the court.

The state's lawyer cross-examined them. The court later adjourned the hearing till 1:30 pm and announced that it would resume the hearing at a later date. Pankaj Peter Gomez, the bench assistant of the court concerned, said that all the witnesses are present and if there is time, the hearing could be completed today.

At 8:45 am today, the main accused in the case, Sohel Rana and his wife Swapna Akhter, were brought to the court from the jail. Later, they were kept in the court's custody and taken to the courtroom during the hearing.

Earlier on Monday, the court framed charges against the accused and ordered the trial to begin. On the same day, summons were issued to 17 witnesses to appear in court.

On May 24, the court accepted the charge sheet against the two accused. Later, the case was sent to the Dhaka Metropolitan Child Violence Prevention Tribunal for trial. There are a total of 18 witnesses for the state in the case.

According to the details of the case, Ramisa was a second-grade student of Popular Model High School. She was taken to her home on the morning of May 19 and later killed. The police recovered the child's body and collected evidence from the scene.

On May 20, the victim's father, Abdul Hannan Molla, filed a case with Pallabi Police Station.