Main accused confesses, implicates accomplice during self-defense hearing

The self-defense hearing for the accused in the brutal rape and murder of an eight-year-old child in the capital's Pallabi area concluded today. During the hearing, the prime suspect, Sohel Rana, begged the court for mercy while claiming that another individual named "Dollar" was also involved in the crime and should be arrested. Meanwhile, Sohel's wife and co-accused, Swapna Akter, maintained her innocence.

The hearing took place at the Dhaka Metropolitan Child Violence Suppression Tribunal on Wednesday (June 3). Following the proceedings, Judge Masrour Salekin scheduled the closing arguments for tomorrow (Thursday) confirmed Pankaj Peter Gomez, the bench assistant of the court.

Sohel and Swapna were brought to the court premises from prison in the morning and kept in the court lockup. Sohel was produced before the court at 10:45am, followed by Swapna at 11am. The judge took his seat at 11:10am to commence the proceedings.

Addressing the prime accused, the judge noted that 16 witnesses had testified against him in the case, and subsequently read out the charges and testimonies. When asked if he had anything to say in his defense, Sohel stood in the dock and said, "I am innocent, sir. Please catch Dollar, who was with me. It’s not that I didn’t do anything wrong; I committed a crime, and Dollar did too... Please forgive me, I have a young child."

During his statement, Sohel also defended his wife, claiming, "My wife is completely innocent, sir."

The court then addressed Swapna, stating that according to the charges and witness testimonies, she was also implicated in the same crime, and asked for her statement. Swapna told the court, "I did nothing. I am innocent."

Following the conclusion of the self-defense hearing, Public Prosecutor Azizur Rahman Dulu petitioned the court to set Thursday for arguments, which the court granted.

According to the case details, the dismembered body of the eight-year-old child was recovered from a third-floor flat in Pallabi on May 19. Sohel, a resident of the flat, had fled the scene by breaking the window grills of the toilet. His wife was detained from the apartment immediately, while Sohel was arrested later that evening from Fatullah in Narayanganj.

The victim's father subsequently filed a case with Pallabi Police Station. Police stated that Sohel previously gave a confessional statement before the court, admitting to the rape and murder of the child. A total of 16 witnesses gave their depositions in the case on Tuesday.