TBM Report
In a landmark judgment hailed as a milestone for child protection, a specialized Dhaka tribunal today sentenced prime accused Sohel Rana and his wife Swapna Akhtar to death for the brutal rape and decapitation murder of an eight-year-old child. Judge Masrur Salekin of the Dhaka Metropolitan Tribunal for the Prevention of Violence Against Children delivered the verdict, concluding the entire judicial process within a record-breaking 17 days of trial proceedings. In addition to the capital punishment, the court imposed a fine of BDT 500,000 on Sohel Rana and BDT 200,000 on Swapna Akhtar.
The highly anticipated verdict triggered unprecedented security measures around the court premises, with over a hundred police personnel deployed to preempt any volatile escalation. The prosecution successfully established an airtight ‘chain of facts’ using DNA profiling, forensic matching, post-mortem analyses, and the suspects’ own prompt judicial confessions under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The minor victim, a second-grade student, was assaulted and killed on May 19 inside the defendants’ apartment in Mirpur’s Pallabi area, sparking nationwide outrage and demands for swift justice.
In a rare legal development, both the prosecution and the state-appointed defense counsel expressed absolute satisfaction with the capital sentences. Defense Attorney Mussa Kalimullah stated to reporters that the perpetrators received the punishment they rightfully deserved, noting that the biological and testimonial evidence left no room for doubt. Special Public Prosecutor Advocate Azizur Rahman Dulu remarked that the state’s rapid intervention and the trial’s conclusion within just four actual working sessions would serve as a powerful deterrent against heinous crimes targeting minors across the region.
