'I was addicted to drugs, made a mistake,' says Ramisa rape-murder convict Sohel seeking HC pardon

Death-row convict Sohel Rana, sentenced in the rape and murder case of child Ramisa, pleaded for forgiveness from a High Court bench today (14 June), citing the future of his only child and the extreme financial distress of his family.

In a confessional statement submitted during a hearing on his newly accepted jail appeal, he claimed that severe financial hardship, familial unrest and addiction led him to unconsciously commit the crime.

Sohel Rana told the court that he was financially insolvent as he worked as a mechanic in an auto-rickshaw garage and regularly consumed illegal drugs such as yaba, which caused frequent domestic quarrels. "I was a regular yaba user and was addicted to drugs."

He added that he had no prior criminal record. He argued that the incident was "entirely unintentional" and occurred while he was intoxicated.

"I made a mistake. I seek forgiveness," he pleaded, noting that there is none to support his family or pay for his son's education.

Meanwhile, his wife and fellow death-row convict in the same case, Swapna Akhter, maintained her innocence and sought an acquittal for her jail appeal.

The two convicts filed their appeals through prison authorities last Thursday (11 June), both of which were accepted for hearing by the High Court today.

Attorney General Barrister Md Ruhul Quddus Kazal represented the state.

On 7 June, Judge Masrur Salekin of the Dhaka Metropolitan Children's Violence Suppression Tribunal delivered the verdict in the case.

In its judgment, the tribunal said that under Section 368 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the convicts are to be hanged by the neck until death.

It also said that under Section 374 of the same code, the death sentences can be carried out only after confirmation by the High Court.

The tribunal additionally fined Sohel Tk5 lakh and Swapna Tk2 lakh. It directed that the fines be paid to Ramisa's legal heirs.