The High Court has postponed the date for delivering its verdict on the death reference and appeal of Hitu Sheikh, a convict in the rape and murder of an eight-year-old child in Magura.
Following a time petition from the prosecution, a High Court bench comprising Justice Bhishmadev Chakraborty and Justice KM Rasheduzzaman Raja set August 31, for the verdict.
The order was passed on Tuesday.
State-appointed lawyer Hafizur Rahman Khan represented the accused during the hearing, while Deputy Attorney General Imam Hasan Tarek represented the state. Assistant Attorneys General Rohani Siddika and Mahbuba Tasnim Ankhi assisted him.
The hearing on the death reference seeking confirmation of Hitu Sheikh’s death sentence and his appeal in the rape and murder case began on August 11.
In early March 2025, the child was allegedly raped and sexually assaulted while visiting her sister's in-laws 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, where she died on March 13.
On May 17, 2025, Magura Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal Judge M Zahid Hasan sentenced the main accused, the father-in-law of the child's sister, to death. The court acquitted the other three accused.
The case documents were subsequently sent to the High Court as a death reference.
Amid several incidents of violence against women and children, Chief Justice Zubair Rahman Chowdhury formed a special High Court bench on June 10, 2026, to prioritise death references and appeals in cases under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act.
A special team of state lawyers was also formed to assist the bench. Led by Attorney General Barrister Md Ruhul Quddus Kazal, the team includes deputy attorney generals Mohammad Imam Hossain Tarek and Syed Ejaz Kabir, and assistant attorney generals Mahbuba Tasnim Ankhi, Mustafizur Rahman Mukul, Ashraful Alam, Rohani Siddique and Al Amin Siddique.
