The High Court on Monday upheld the death sentence of Hitu Sheikh for the rape and murder of an eight-year-old child in Magura.

A two-judge bench of Justice Bhishmadev Chakrabortty and Justice KM Rasheduzzaman Raja delivered the ruling after concluding hearings on the death reference and appeal on August 24. The verdict had been scheduled for August 25 but was deferred to August 31 at the request of the prosecution.

The child was raped and an attempt was made on her life at her sister’s house in Magura town on March 5, 2025. She later died at the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka while undergoing treatment.

Her mother filed a case against Sheikh and three others, all of whom were subsequently arrested. Police submitted the charge sheet on April 13, 2025. Charges were framed on April 23 and witness testimony began on April 27. After 29 prosecution witnesses, the evidence stage ended on May 7, arguments concluded on May 13, and Judge M Zahid Hasan of the Magura Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal delivered the verdict on May 17.

The tribunal sentenced Sheikh to death and fined him BDT 100,000 for raping and killing the child. It acquitted the three other accused: Sajib Sheikh, Ratul Sheikh and Jaheda Begum.

The death penalty was sent to the High Court as a death reference for confirmation, and Sheikh filed an appeal. He was represented by state-appointed lawyer Hafizur Rahman Khan, while Deputy Attorney General Imam Hossain Tareq appeared for the state.

The child’s mother, Ayesha Akter, who brought the case, said the High Court’s sentence should be carried out quickly. “Through this verdict I’ve received justice for my daughter’s murder,” she said.