The High Court has postponed its verdict on the death reference and appeal of Hitu Sheikh, the main convict in the rape and murder of an 8-year-old child in Magura, to Monday, Aug 31.

A High Court bench of Justice Bhishmadev Chakrabortty and Justice KM Rasheduzzaman Raja fixed the new date for the verdict on Tuesday following the state's application for time.

At the beginning of the court proceedings, Deputy Attorney General Imam Hossain Tarek said: "The attorney general is representing the state’s case at the hearings. He is out of the country. That is why we are seeking time."

The court then granted the petition for time and set Monday for the verdict.

State-appointed defence lawyer Hafizur Rahman Khan told bdnews24.com, "The verdict on Hitu Sheikh's death reference was supposed to be on Tuesday. The attorney general will probably be in attendance on the day of the verdict, so the date has been postponed."

He also said that, as the defence lawyer, he had sought Hitu's acquittal.

The hearing on Hitu's appeal and death reference began on Aug 11.

The High Court appointed Hafizur as the state defence as the accused's own lawyer was not present at the hearing on Aug 13.

On May 17, 2025, the Magura Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal sentenced Hitu to death for raping and murdering an eight-year-old child.

The other three suspects in the case, the child's brother-in-law Sajeeb Sheikh, Sajeeb's brother Ratul Sheikh and their mother Zaheda Begum, were acquitted.

After the verdict, Hitu appealed against the death sentence at the High Court.

At the same time, the death reference in the case came to the High Court for the approval of a death sentence.

The death reference section sent the case documents to BG Press for the preparation of a paperbook. After the printing work, the paperbook reached the concerned branch of the High Court in June last year.

The child was raped on Mar 6, 2025, while visiting her sister's house in Sreepur Upazila of Magura.

On that day, she was taken from Magura Sadar Hospital to Faridpur Medical College Hospital and later to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

When her condition deteriorated, she was taken to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) on Mar 8. The child died there on Mar 13 while undergoing treatment.

Before that, on Mar 8, the child's mother had filed a case against Hitu and four others at Magura Sadar Police Station under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act.

After the child's death, a charge of murder was also added to the case.

The main accused in the case, Hitu, gave a confessional statement under Section 164 in the court on Mar 15.

Later, after the completion of the investigation, the police filed a charge sheet on Apr 13.

On Apr 23, the court framed charges against Hitu under Section 9(2) of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act and against the other three accused under separate sections of the Penal Code, ordering the trial to begin.

After hearing the testimonies of 29 state witnesses in a trial that lasted just a few days, the tribunal announced its verdict in the case on May 17 of that year.