The High Court has upheld the death sentence of Hitu Sheikh in the widely discussed rape and murder case of an eight-year-old child in Magura.
A High Court bench comprising Justice Bhishmadev Chakraborty and Justice KM Rasheduzzaman Raja began announcing the verdict at 11am on Monday.
The verdict was initially scheduled for August 25 but was deferred after the state sought more time.
State-appointed lawyer Hafizur Rahman Khan represented Hitu Sheikh, while Deputy Attorney General Imam Hasan Tarek appeared for the state, assisted by Assistant Attorney General Rohani Siddique and Mahbuba Tasnim Ankhi.
The hearing on the death reference and appeal 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.
