Sohel Rana and his wife, Swapna Akter, who were arrested in connection with the rape and murder of child Ramisa Akter in the capital’s Pallabi area, have been produced before a Dhaka court for a hearing on charge framing.

The accused were brought from prison to court at around 7:30am on Monday (1 June) and were subsequently kept in the court’s holding cell.

The hearing on the framing of charges is scheduled to take place before the Dhaka Children Violence Suppression Tribunal. Judge Masrur Salekin is expected to hear arguments in the presence of the accused.

Pankaj Peter Gomes, bench assistant of the concerned court, confirmed the development.

Earlier on 24 May, the tribunal set 1 June for the charge framing hearing in a case filed over the rape and murder of eight-year-old Ramisa Akter in the capital’s Pallabi area.

Judge Masrur Salekin of the Dhaka Children Violence Suppression Tribunal set the date after accepting the charge sheet on Sunday against the prime accused, Sohel Rana, and his wife, Swapna Akter, said Pankaj Peter Gomes, bench assistant of the tribunal.

Prior to this, police submitted the charge sheet before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court in Dhaka, accusing the two.

Later, the case was transferred to the Children Violence Suppression Tribunal for disposal.

Court sources said the tribunal had been scheduled to remain closed for Eid and vacation leave until 15 June. However, under special directives, the leave has been cancelled to allow the trial in the Ramisa murder case to proceed.

Ramisa, a second-grader at Popular Model High School in Mirpur, was killed in a neighbouring flat in the same building on 19 May.

The main accused, Sohel Rana, 34, gave a confessional statement before a court on 20 May, admitting that he sexually assaulted and later killed the child.