The defence began its arguments before the High Court on Sunday in the death reference and appeal in the widely discussed rape and murder case of an eight-year-old girl in Magura.
The hearing began before a High Court bench comprising Justice Bhishmadev Chakraborty and Justice KM Rasheduzzaman Raja.
State-appointed lawyer Hafizur Rahman Khan is representing the accused.
The High Court began hearing the death reference and the accused’s appeal on August 11. Deputy Attorney General Md Imam Hossain Tareq presented arguments for the state, assisted by Assistant Attorneys General Rohani Siddiqua and Mahbuba Tasnim Akhi.
The minor girl was raped and sexually assaulted in early March 2025 while visiting her sister’s in-laws’ home in Nijnanduali village of Magura.
She was initially taken to hospitals in Magura and Faridpur in critical condition. As her condition deteriorated, she was transferred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital and later to Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Dhaka, where she died on March 13.
On May 17, 2025, the Magura Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal sentenced Hitu Sheikh, the father-in-law of the victim’s sister and the prime accused, to death.
The tribunal acquitted the three other accused—the eight-year-old girl’s brother-in-law Sajib Sheikh, Sajib's brother Ratul Sheikh and their mother Jaheda Begum.
The tribunal subsequently sent the case records to the High Court as a death reference for confirmation of the sentence.
Amid several brutal incidents of violence against women and children, Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury formed a special High Court bench on June 10, 2026, to prioritise hearings of death references and appeals in cases filed under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act.
A special team of state lawyers was also formed to conduct proceedings before the bench.
Led by Attorney General Barrister Md Ruhul Quddus Kazal, the team comprises Deputy Attorneys General Mohammad Imam Hossain Tareq and Syed Ejaz Kabir, and Assistant Attorneys General Mahbuba Tasnim Akhi, Mustafizur Rahman Mukul, Ashraful Alam, Rohani Siddiqua and Al Amin Siddiqui.