Suraiya Akter Risha

A Dhaka court today deferred till October 10 the delivery of the verdict of Willes Little Flower School student Suraiya Akter Risha murder case.  

Judge KM Emrul Kayesh of the Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court set the new date as Obaidul Khan, the lone accused in the case, could not be produced before the court today.

Obaidul could not be produced before the court as the police personnel concerned was on Durga Puja duty, said court sources.

Earlier, the court fixed October 6 (today) for the delivery of the verdict on completion of the arguments of prosecution and defence lawyers.

During the trial, the court recorded statements of 21 prosecution witnesses including the complainant of the case.

Risha died at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Dhaka Medical College Hospital on August 28, 2016, four days after she was stabbed allegedly by the stalker Obaidul in front of her school at Kakrail.

Following the incident, Tania Hossain, the victim’s mother, filed a case against Obaidul with Ramna Police Station under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act.

Fourteen-year-old Risha, a class VIII student, was the eldest child of the couple Ramzan Hossain and Tania Hossain.

The death of Risha sparked protests across the capital at that time.

Obaidul was arrested in Domar upazila of Nilphamari with the help of locals a week after Risha was stabbed. Hailing from Miradangi village in Birganj upazila of Dinajpur, he used to work at a tailoring shop in the city.

On November 14, 2016, Ali Hossain, inspector of Ramna Police Station, submitted the charge sheet against Obaidul to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court of Dhaka.

The court framed charges against Obaidul on April 17, 2017.