Neighbour Sohel confesses to raping, killing child in Pallabi

Sohail Rana, 34, the man arrested for the murder of a seven-year-old child in the capital's Pallabi area, has confessed to the crime before a court, according to police.

The confession was recorded by Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Aminul Islam Junayed on Wednesday, May 20. Sohail Rana and his wife Swapna Akter have both been sent to jail.

The victim was a second-grade student and a neighbour of the accused.

According to the confession, Sohail locked the child in a bathroom, raped and killed her. To hide the body, he severed the child's head with a sharp knife. The headless body was found on Tuesday morning from a house in the neighbourhood. The severed head was later recovered from a bucket.

Sohail's wife Swapna was present at the scene during the recovery. She told police that her husband had committed the crime.

The victim's father subsequently filed a case under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act at Pallabi Police Station on Wednesday morning.

Public demands death sentence

Members of the public gathered at the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court premises when Sohail was produced, expressing outrage and demanding the maximum punishment for the accused.