What accused Sohel said in jail appeal after admitting responsibility for Ramisa’s murder
Sohel Rana, the main accused in the rape and murder case of 8-year-old Ramisa in the capital’s Pallavi, has confessed to his crime and apologized to the honorable court.
In his confessional statement given in jail appeal, the death row convict claimed that this brutal incident occurred unconsciously due to severe financial crisis, family unrest and excessive drug use. He apologized to the court for this crime, citing the future of his only child and the extreme disaster that has befallen the family.
Today, Sunday (June 14), death row convict Sohel Rana said in his jail appeal before the High Court bench, “I am financially insolvent. I worked as a mechanic in an auto-rickshaw garage. I was regularly addicted to Yaba or drugs. There were often quarrels and disputes in the family due to my drug addiction and drunkenness. I was not involved in any crime before. The incident that happened to the victim in this case happened when I was addicted to drugs and drunkenness. The incident happened completely unintentionally, unconsciously due to my financial lack, family unrest, drug addiction and drunkenness. I do not understand how the incident happened. I have no one to provide for the education of my only son and to support the family. I made a mistake, I apologize.” However, accused Sohel Rana’s wife, death row convict Swapna Akhter, has claimed innocence in the jail appeal and sought acquittal. Rana and Swapna Akhter appealed their jail terms to the High Court through the prison authorities. The High Court accepted the accused’s jail term appeal for hearing on Sunday.
The rape and murder incident discussed in the news took place in Pallabi on the morning of May 19. The next day, May 20 (the night of May 19), at 12:05 am, the victim’s father filed a case with Pallabi Police Station. In the case, accused Sohel Rana and his wife Swapna Khatun were charged with raping and murdering the victim and aiding in the disappearance of the body. The police then started an investigation. 4 days after the incident, on May 24, Sub-Inspector Ahiduzzaman, the investigating officer of Pallabi Police Station, filed the charge sheet. A total of 18 people were made witnesses in the charge sheet.
On June 1, charges were framed against Sohel and his wife Swapna and an order to start the trial was issued. The recording of testimonies began on June 2. That day, the court completed the recording of the testimonies of 16 out of 18 witnesses through depositions and cross-examination. Later, on June 3, the defendant pleaded not guilty in the hearing. On June 4, after arguments from the state and the defendant, the court fixed June 7 for the verdict.
According to the case file, Ramisha, a second-grade student of Popular Model High School, left her home around 9:30 am on May 19. At that time, Swapna called her home out of curiosity. That day, around 10:30 am, her mother started looking for Ramisha to go to school. At one point, she saw her daughter’s shoes in front of Sohel’s door. When there was no response after knocking on the door, Ramisha’s parents and people from another flat broke the door and found Ramisha’s headless body on the floor of Sohel’s bedroom and her head in a large bucket. Later, after receiving a call on the emergency service 999, the police reached the spot. Swapna was taken into custody from the scene. Sohel Rana was arrested in front of Fatullah Police Station in Narayanganj with the help of information technology.
