Death ref pending in Asiya murder case

More than a year after a trial court handed down a death sentence in the rape and murder case of eight-year-old Asiya in Magura, the mandatory death reference remains pending before the High Court, delaying the execution of the verdict despite a swift trial.

On May 17 last year, Judge M Zahid Hasan of the Magura Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal sentenced convict Hitu Sheikh to death for the rape and murder of the child.

As the case remains stuck in the High Court’s death reference process, legal experts and observers are now calling for the formation of a separate bench to expedite hearings in such sensitive cases.

Asiya was raped on March 6 last year while visiting her sister’s in-laws’ house in Nijnanduali village of Magura Sadar. Critically injured, she was first taken to hospitals in Magura and Faridpur.

As her condition worsened, she was shifted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital and later to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Dhaka.

She died on March 13 while undergoing treatment.
The incident triggered nationwide outrage. Social media platforms, streets, and public spaces across the country were flooded with protests, grief, and demands for justice. Over time, however, public attention gradually faded.