Swapna Akter, the wife of Sohel Rana - the prime suspect in the rape and murder of 8-year-old Ramisa Akter, has pleaded not guilty and has sought justice from the court during the defence hearing.
Her husband Sohel also sought justice on Wednesday in response to the judge’s question regarding his plea. He asked for mercy and said: “Sir, catch Dollar - he is also guilty."
On the day of the indictment hearing, Sohel claimed that his only crime was chopping Ramisa’s body into “two pieces”. He alleges a man named Dollar from Mirpur was responsible for her rape and murder and that he paid Sohel Tk 200,000 for acting as his accomplice.
However, police say that Sohel is only making these statements to try and divert attention from his own culpability in the case.
On Wednesday, Sohel and Swapna's defence hearing was held at the court of Judge Masrur Salekin of the Dhaka Child Repression Prevention Tribunal. The judge read out the charges against them. Then the two suspects asked for justice.
