Asiya rape-murder: HC upholds death sentence for Hitu Sheikh
Following the tribunal's verdict, all case documents were sent to the High Court as a death reference to confirm the death sentence.
The High Court today (31 August) upheld the death sentence of Hitu Sheikh, a man convicted in the rape and murder case of eight-year-old Asiya in Magura.
The bench of Justice Bhishmadev Chakraborty and Justice KM Rasheduzzaman Raja delivered the verdict, disposing of Hitu's appeal and the government's death reference seeking confirmation of the sentence.
With the High Court's decision, the trial court's death sentence against Hitu Sheikh stands upheld.
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Earlier, on 25 August, the High Court deferred the delivery of its verdict on the death reference and appeal of Hitu, convicted in the widely discussed rape and murder case, to today after the prosecution sought more time.
The court subsequently allowed the time petition and fixed the new date for delivering the verdict.
The hearing on the death reference seeking confirmation of the death sentence awarded to the accused, Hitu Sheikh, and his appeal began on 11 August.
Hitu Sheikh, the father-in-law of Asiya's sister and the principal accused in the case, was sentenced to death by Magura Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal Judge M Zahid Hasan on 17 May 2025.
In the same verdict, three other accused – Asiya's sister's husband Sajib Sheikh, Sajib's brother Ratul Sheikh and their mother Zaheda Begum – were acquitted.
Following the tribunal's verdict, all case documents were sent to the High Court as a death reference to confirm the death sentence.
How the child died
According to case documents, Asiya was raped and sexually assaulted in early March 2025 while visiting her sister's in-laws' home in Nijnanduali village of Magura.
She was first taken to a hospital in Magura and later to a hospital in Faridpur in critical condition. As her condition deteriorated, she was admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital and later to Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka.
She died while undergoing treatment on 13 March 2025.
Following several brutal incidents of violence against women and children, Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury formed a special High Court bench on 10 June 2026 to prioritise the disposal of death references and appeals arising from cases filed under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act.
