The Dhaka Metropolitan Violence Against Children Prevention Tribunal on Monday charged a couple with the rape and murder of their neighbour 7-year-old girl at Pallabi in the capital.

The tribunal judge, Masrur Salekin, posted for Tuesday the recording of the depositions of the prosecution.

The accused are Sohel Rana, an alleged drug peddler, and his wife Swapna Akter.

Police on May 24 submitted a 47-page charge sheet and supporting documents in connection with the rape and murder of the child, whose dismembered body was recovered from a neighbouring apartment in the Pallabi area on May 19.

Investigation officer Ohiduzzaman submitted the charge sheet, which named 17 prosecution witnesses, including the parents of the victim, only five days after the incident amid nationwide demands for a speedy trial.

The accused were not represented by private lawyers after the Dhaka Bar Association decided not to provide legal representation in the case.

According to investigators, police recovered parts of the victim’s body from Sohel’s residence in Pallabi’s Section 11 on May 19.

Her severed head was later found in a bucket inside the flat.

The victim’s father filed a case with the Pallabi police station on May 20, alleging that neighbour Sohel Rana, a drug peddler, took his daughter to his room, raped her, killed her and dismembered the body in an attempt to conceal the crime. He also accused Swapna Akter and an unidentified person of involvement in the incident.

On May 20, a Dhaka court sent Sohel to jail after he reportedly confessed to the rape and the murder. Swapna, who was charged with assisting her husband in the crimes by damaging the evidence of the crimes, was also sent to jail by another court.

The Criminal Investigation Department handed over DNA and viscera examination reports to the police on May 23. On the same day, the law ministry appointed Supreme Court lawyer Azizur Rahman Dulu as special public prosecutor to conduct the trial on behalf of the state.

The case has drawn widespread public attention and renewed calls for swift justice and stronger protection of children from sexual violence.