Trial completed in just two months
The murder shook the country, triggering protests by students, teachers and parents.
On July 5 last year, the accused took Samia Afrin Saima to the roof of an eight-storey building in Wari, saying that he would show her the view and raped the six-year-old inside an empty flat. When she passed out, he strangled her with a rope.
The trial of the murder case started on January 8 and in an exemplary move, the court not only finished the trial in just two months, but also set March 9 for delivering the verdict.
The family also expressed their satisfaction in this regard. "We hope the culprit gets the highest punishment in the case," said the victim's father, Abdus Salam, who filed the case with Wari Police Station, a day after the incident, against the lone accused Harun Or Rashid.
Judge Kazi Abdul Hannan of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-1 fixed the date yesterday on completion of placing arguments from the prosecution and defence.
Harun was present at the dock at the time.
After the hearing, the judge said, "It's possible to complete any judgment quickly if both the prosecution and defence help. With your help, it was possible to finish the trial in a short time."
The court started the trial through recording the complainant's testimony, said Special Public Prosecutor Abdul Bari.
It recorded the statements of 14 prosecution witnesses out of 17 in the case, he said.
The prosecution said they finished recording testimony within eight working days while the court heard the arguments from the prosecution and defence yesterday.
Harun was arrested from Cumilla on July 7 last year and police pressed charges against him on November 4.
The court framed the charges on January 2 this year and started the trial on January 8.
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