Magura Correspondent:

The High Court on Tuesday admitted the appeal filed by death-row convict Hitu Sheikh in the case over the rape and murder of the eight-year-old girl in Magura. It also stayed the portion of the trial court verdict that fined him Tk 1 lakh.

A bench of Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman and Justice Md Sagir Hossain passed the order after a brief hearing.

Lawyer Md Abbas Uddin represented the appellant.

On May 17, the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal in Magura sentenced Hitu Sheikh, 44, to death for the rape and murder of the child.

The verdict came 70 days after the case was filed on March 8. The trial was completed in 11 working days, according to the prosecution.

Hitu’s wife, Jaheda Begum, 38, and sons Ratul Sheikh, 18, and Sajib Sheikh, 20, were acquitted, as the charges against them could not be proven.

According to case documents, the victim went to visit her elder sister’s house in the Nijnanduali Mathpara area of Magura Sadar on March 1. She was raped there in the early hours of March 6.

Later that day, she was admitted to Magura 250-bed District Hospital in critical condition and subsequently transferred to Faridpur Medical College Hospital. She was later shifted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital and placed on life support.

As her condition worsened, she was moved to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Dhaka on March 8. She died there on March 13.

The same day, her mother filed a case with Magura Sadar Police Station under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, naming Hitu, Jaheda, Sajib, and Ratul as accused.