Dhaka, 17 May 

A Bangladeshi court on Saturday sentenced a man to death for the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl, in a swift trial that concluded in record 20 days.

The convict, 50-year-old Hitu Sheikh, is the father-in-law of the victim's elder sister. The incident took place on March 1 at Magura district in western Bangladesh when the victim visited her sister's home.

The girl was critically wounded during the rape and succumbed to her injuries at a military hospital in Dhaka, 12 days later.

Pronouncing the verdict in a crowded courtroom as police escorted Sheikh to the dock, Judge M Zahid Hasan of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal in Magura announced, “He will be hanged by neck until his death.”

The court, however, acquitted three co-accused -- the convict’s wife and two sons -- saying the prosecution could not prove the allegations brought against them.

The incident had sparked a nationwide fury. A High Court bench had ordered completion of the trial in six months and granted police 30 days to complete the investigation.

Judicial experts in Dhaka said this was the fastest among recorded trials in a rape and murder case in Bangladesh’s history.