The Government of Bangladesh has officially appointed a defence counsel at state expense to represent the accused in the high-profile rape and murder case of eight-year-old child Ramisa in the Pallabi area of Mirpur, Dhaka. The judicial court has scheduled 1 June 2026 for the formal hearing concerning the framing of criminal charges against the suspects. The administrative intervention became legally necessary after the Dhaka Bar Association formally announced that none of its registered members would stand or provide legal representation for the accused in court due to the severity of the crime.
Under these procedural conditions, an official administrative order was published on Sunday, 24 May 2026, by the Solicitor Wing (GP-PP Branch) of the Law and Justice Division under the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs. The mandate confirmed the appointment of state-funded defence counsel (State Defence) to ensure a lawful trial.
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Selection of State Counsel and Administrative Orders
The official government notification states that Advocate Musa Kalimullah, an active member of the Dhaka District Bar Association, has been assigned to manage the legal defence for the accused at state expense. The state order clarified that the appointed counsel will receive standard professional fees and allowances from the state exchequer in strict accordance with prevailing statutory rules.
The Ministry of Law specified that this administrative directive enters into immediate effect to prevent any procedural delays during the upcoming charge-framing session.
Concurrently, the government has moved to reinforce the state prosecution unit. On Saturday, 23 May 2026, the Law and Justice Division issued a separate decree appointing Advocate Azizur Rahman Dulu as the Special Public Prosecutor (PP) to lead the state’s case against the accused.
Formal Submission of the Investigative Charge Sheet
On Sunday afternoon, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court of Dhaka received the definitive investigative charge sheet from the police. The Sub-Inspector of Pallabi Police Station, Ohiduzzaman, who is acting as the primary investigating officer, formally submitted the document accusing the principal suspect, Sohel Rana, and his wife, Swopna Akhter, of direct involvement in the brutal crime.
Prior to the submission of the charge sheet on Sunday midday, prison authorities transported Sohel Rana and Swopna Akhter from the central correctional facility to the Dhaka court premises under stringent security protocols inside a reinforced prison van. The suspects were securely detained within the court lock-up facility during the processing of the police documentation.
Forensic Findings and DNA Evidentiary Reports
The investigative dossier submitted to the magistrate contains critical medical and forensic evidence detailing the violent sequence of events. The official post-mortem and forensic examinations completed by medical officers provided definitive scientific proof that the eight-year-old victim was subjected to forced sexual assault prior to her death.
According to the pathological timeline compiled in the forensic report, the victim was first forcefully raped. Following the assault, the perpetrator killed her via mechanical asphyxiation (strangulation). Subsequently, the perpetrator used a sharp instrument to sever the head and hands from the main torso of the child’s body.
Further reinforcing the scientific evidence, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Bangladesh Police officially transferred the definitive DNA profiling report to the investigating officer on Saturday, 23 May. A senior executive officer within the CID confirmed that the biological evidence matches the samples retrieved from the crime scene, legally linking the primary suspect to the assault.
Prior Judicial Confessions and Institutional Custody
The structural timeline of the criminal prosecution includes prior judicial confessions recorded under the Code of Criminal Procedure. On Wednesday, 20 May 2026, the principal accused, Sohel Rana, was produced before Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Aminul Islam Junaid. During the closed-door proceedings, Rana gave a formal confessional statement admitting his absolute guilt regarding the rape and subsequent murder of Ramisa. Upon the conclusion of the recording, the magistrate ordered him to be remanded to central prison custody.
On the same day, a separate judicial bench presided over by Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Ashraful Haque reviewed the initial interrogation reports of the co-accused, Swopna Akhter. Following the review, the court denied bail and ordered her immediate transfer to jail custody alongside her husband, pending the formal commencement of the trial on 1 June.