Police have filed a case against two individuals, including a businessman, after seizing six illegally manufactured ballot seals in Laxmipur.
The arrested accused later made a confessional statement in court, naming a local Jamaat-e-Islami leader as being involved in the incident.
Additional Superintendent of Police (Administration & Finance) Hosain Mohammad Raihan Kazemi confirmed the matter on Wednesday (February 4).
He said police lodged the case at Sadar Model Police Station, showing detained businessman Sohel Rana as arrested.
“The accused Sohel Rana has given a confessional statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure before the court, where he admitted the involvement of Sharif Hossain Sourav, general secretary of Jamaat’s municipal Ward No. 4 unit,” the officer said.
Sohel Rana was arrested following a raid on his printing shop, Maryam Printers, located on Old Court Road in Laxmipur town. Acting on a tip-off, police conducted the operation on Tuesday afternoon (February 3) and seized six ballot seals with 16 compartments each, along with a computer and a mobile phone.
The accused is the son of Khorshed Alam, a resident of Tumchar village under Ward No. 1 of Tumchar Union in Laxmipur Sadar upazila.
Following the seizure, leaders of BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami held separate press conferences on Tuesday night, trading accusations over the incident.
BNP Joint Secretary General and Lakshmipur-3 (Sadar) constituency candidate Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Annie alleged Jamaat’s involvement in the ballot seal forgery and claimed that Sohel Rana was a Jamaat activist.
However, Jamaat’s Dhaka Metropolitan North Secretary and scales-symbol candidate Rezaul Karim denied the allegations, stating that Sohel Rana had no affiliation with Jamaat-e-Islami.
Police said further investigation is underway to identify all individuals involved in the illegal preparation of ballot seals, which is considered a serious offence related to election manipulation.
