A new name has surfaced in the Ramisa rape and murder case, with prime accused Sohel Rana telling reporters today that a man called “Dollar” was responsible for the rape and murder of the eight-year-old girl.

However, no further details about the person were immediately available.

Sohel made the claim while being escorted to the courtroom of the Dhaka Metropolitan Children Violence Suppression Tribunal.

“I am at fault, and Dollar is also at fault. I am not the only culprit,” he told reporters.

Standing in the courtroom’s dock, he shouted at the lawyers present in the courtroom after the hearing, and said, “I did not commit the rape; I only dismembered the body. A man named Dollar committed the rape. I have sinned, so punish me for that sin.”

At that time, Sohel further claimed that Dollar had promised to pay him Tk 2 lakh if he could bring the girl to him.

However, police officers present immediately stopped him from speaking further.

Sohel also claimed that his wife, Swapna Khatun, was innocent.

Earlier in the day, Sohel and Swapna were brought to the lock-up of the Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court in Dhaka.

Later, Judge Masrur Salekin of the tribunal framed charges against the couple in the case over the rape and murder of Ramisa in Dhaka’s Pallabi area.

Both accused pleaded not guilty after the charges were read out, said Bench Assistant Pankoj Peter Gomes.

The judge also fixed tomorrow for the start of the trial, with the victim’s father, Abdul Hannan Mollah, scheduled to testify first, he added.

On May 24, Sub-Inspector Ohiduzzaman of Pallabi Police Station submitted the charge sheet before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court in Dhaka, accusing Sohel of rape, murder and destruction of evidence, and Swapna of destruction of evidence and providing false information.

Several hours later, the CMM Court transferred the case to the Children Violence Suppression Tribunal for trial.

Ramisa, a second-grade student of Popular Model High School, was found beheaded on May 19 in the house of her neighbour, Sohel.

The following day, Ramisa’s father filed a case with Pallabi Police Station, accusing the couple and an unidentified person.

According to the case statement, Sohel lured Ramisa into his room and raped her. Investigators said he later slit her throat and attempted to dismember the body to conceal the crime.

On May 20, police produced Sohel and Swapna before a Dhaka court, and court sources said Sohel agreed to give a confessional statement before a magistrate. The third and unidentified accused was on the run. Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Aminul Islam Junaid recorded Sohel’s confessional statement after police brought him to the magistrate’s chamber, said a court staff member.

Sub-Inspector Ohiduzzaman of Pallabi Police Station told The Daily Star that day, the prime accused had already admitted to the crime during primary interrogation.

On May 22, the Dhaka Bar Association decided not to provide legal assistance to the accused following an emergency virtual meeting of its executive committee, citing the gravity of the allegations.

The next day, the government appointed Supreme Court lawyer Musa Kalimullah as a state defence counsel to represent the accused to ensure a fair trial.

This report has been corrected at 4:43pm. In the earlier version, Sohel Rana’s comment was misreported. We regret the error.