The death reference (trial court records sent to the High Court for confirmation of the death sentence) and appeals in the widely discussed Ramisa Akter rape and murder case have been placed before the High Court for priority hearing and disposal.

Deputy Attorney General Mohammad Imam Hossain Tareq told The Daily Star that the bench of Justice Bhishmadev Chakrabortty and Justice KM Rasheduzzaman Raja will begin hearing the case after disposing of the 21 cases listed before it.

He said the bench is currently hearing the death references and appeals in the widely discussed cases over the murder of Feni madrasa student Nusrat Jahan Rafi and the rape and murder of eight-year-old Asiya in Magura.

The DAG could not say when the bench would start hearing the Ramisa case.

Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury formed the bench on June 10 to hear death sentences and appeals in cases involving crimes against women and children, including Ramisa's case.

Ramisa, a class two student at Popular Model High School in Dhaka's Pallabi, was found dead at her neighbour Sohel Rana's house on May 19.

Her father filed a case with Pallabi Police Station the next day, accusing Sohel, his wife Swapna Khatun and an unidentified person.

On June 7, the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal in Dhaka sentenced Sohel to death for raping and murdering Ramisa. The tribunal also sentenced Swapna to death for helping him.

Both convicts later filed separate appeals through the jail authorities, seeking to be acquitted.