The police on Sunday filed a charge sheet over the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl whose body parts were found at a neighbouring flat at Pallabi in the capital on in the capital on May 19.

Pallabi police subinspector and investigation officer of the case Ohiduzzaman submitted the charge sheet to the court of Dhaka metropolitan magistrate Ashraful Haque in the afternoon against the two accused Md Sohel Rana and his wife Swapna Akter.

The charge sheet was filed within five days of the incident amid widespread protests across the country demanding speedy trial of the case.

On the prayer from special public prosecutor of the case Azizur Rahman Dulu, the magistrate court sent the charge sheet, along with the case docket to the Dhaka Metropolitan Violence Against Children Prevention Tribunal for trial.

The tribunal judge, Masrur Salekin, accepted the charge sheet and set June 1 for hearing on the framing of charges against the couple, who was not represented by any lawyer as per decision of the Dhaka Bar Association.

The government, meanwhile, appointed Musa Kalimullah as the state defence lawyer to provide the couple free legal assistance as no lawyer stood for them, according to a law ministry notification.

The case will proceed during the lower court’s annual vacation as the law ministry cancelled vacation of all metropolitan tribunals dealing with violence against children.

The move aims to ensure an uninterrupted and speedy trial of the cases related to violence against children and women, in line with the government’s commitment to the victim families and the broader demand for justice and protection of women and children rights.

Earlier in the morning, home minister Salahuddin Ahmed at a programme at the Bangladesh Secretariat said that the trial might be completed in five to seven days.

The developments came amid the growing demonstrations and demands for justice for the rape and murder of the Pallabi girl.

Different organisations on Sunday continued to stage protest demonstrations in Dhaka demanding speedy trial of the case..

The Naripokkho, the Centre for Women Journalists and the Bangladesh Jatri Seba Kollan Somiti formed separate human chains in front of the National Press Club while a group of people under the banner of Nagarik Samaj held a protest rally in front of the Bangladesh National Museum at Shahbagh in the capital demanding justice.

The Criminal Investigation Department on Saturday handed over the DNA test and viscera reports to police while the government appointed Supreme Court lawyer Azizur Rahman Dulu as special public prosecutor to conduct the trial of the case for the state on the same day.

On May 19, the police recovered the Mirpur girl’s body parts in prime accused Md Sohel Rana’s house at Section 11 of Pallabi and her slit head was later found in a bucket in the house.

Victim’s father May 20 filed a case against Sohel, his wife Swapna and an identified person with the Pallabi police station, alleging that neighbour Sohel took his daughter to his room and raped her before beheading her and dismembered the body with an intention to hide his crime.

He also alleged that Swapna and an identified person were also involved in the incident.

On May 20, a Dhaka court sent Sohel to jail after recording his confessional statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure while another court sent Swapna to jail.