Hundreds of residents and students blocked the Mirpur-10 intersection in Dhaka this afternoon (22 May), demanding swift justice for the rape and murder of a eight-year-old girl, causing severe traffic disruption in one of the capital’s busiest junctions.
The protest began around 2pm when several hundred people marched toward the roundabout under the banner of “Revolutionary Students and Citizens of Mirpur.”
Occupying the intersection, demonstrators blocked all connecting roads, halting vehicle movement for nearly one and a half hours and bringing traffic in the area to a standstill.
Protesters chanted slogans demanding the speedy trial and maximum punishment for those involved in the killing, while also raising concerns over worsening law and order in the area.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police Additional Deputy Commissioner (Mirpur Traffic Division) Paritran Talukdar told The Business Standard that a large crowd of several hundred people had converged on the Mirpur-10 roundabout to demand justice for the murdered child, which effectively halted all traffic.
He added the demonstration came to an end at approximately 3:30pm when the protestors peacefully vacated the streets.
Prior to the main blockade at the roundabout, local civic groups and educational institutions mobilised community-level human chains near the child’s residence starting at 2:15pm.
Organised by the “B-11 Social Welfare Youth Organisation” alongside grief-stricken teachers and students from Ramisa’s school, the human chains drew massive participation from ordinary citizens.
Multiple independent organisations had also launched coordinated protest processions across various streets in Mirpur after midday, adding to the growing momentum that eventually culminated in the central intersection blockade.
The public anger displayed on the streets of Mirpur mirrors a sweeping wave of nationwide protests triggered by the horrifying details of the crime, which occurred on 19 May, near the Millat Camp area in Pallabi.
A neighbour assaulted and killed Ramisa Akter inside a rented apartment, subsequently dismembering her body and hiding her remains beneath a bed and inside a bathroom.
Although police have arrested the main accused, Sohel Rana — who has since given a formal judicial confession — alongside his wife Swapna Khatun, public fury has continued to intensify across the country.
Speaking from Munshiganj this afternoon, after visiting his daughter’s grave at the Molla family graveyard in Madhya Shialdi village, Ramisa’s father, Hannan Molla, strongly echoed the demands of the street demonstrators, calling for an immediate and swift trial.
He also expressed his deep gratitude to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman for visiting their home to inquire about the family’s welfare during their time of grief.
Munshiganj-1 lawmaker Md Abdullah, along with local leaders, stood alongside the father as he joined the nationwide call for the case to be transferred to a Speedy Trial Tribunal to ensure swift capital punishment for the perpetrators.
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