Jamaat leader accused of making illegal vote seals

Jamaat leader accused of making illegal vote seals

A case has been filed against a Jamaat leader for illegally making voting seals in Lakshmipur.

Police filed the case against Jamaat leader Sourabh Hossain Sharif and businessman Sohel Rana after the seizure of the illegally made vote seals.

The investigating officer of the case, Sadar Model Police Station Sub-Inspector (SI) Monir Hossain, confirmed the matter on Wednesday.

Earlier on Tuesday (February 3) night, Sadar Model Police Station Sub-Inspector Humayun Kabir filed the case as the plaintiff.

According to the police, one of the accused in the case, Sohel Rana, has been shown arrested. However, the other accused, Sourabh Hossain Sharif, is in hiding. The district unit Jamaat Ameer said that he has been expelled from the party after the incident.

Accused Sourabh Hossain Sharif is the secretary of Ward No. 4 of Lakshmipur Municipality and a resident of South Banchanagar area. He is the owner of 'Adhunik Offset and Digital Sign' located on Hospital Road.

According to the complaint, Sohel Rana had made the vote seals on Sharif's order and stored them in his shop for the purpose of casting fake votes.

Police further said that the arrested Sohel Rana is a resident of Tumchar village in Tumchar union of Sadar upazila and the proprietor of 'Mariam Printers' on Old Court Road in the district town.

Based on a tip-off, a raid was conducted at his shop on Tuesday afternoon and six voting seals with 16 cells, a computer and a mobile phone were seized.

The case statement mentioned that on January 30, Jamaat leader Sharif ordered Sohel to make five election seals. A voice message in this regard was sent via WhatsApp. These seals were made illegally with the intention of influencing the upcoming national elections.

SI Monir Hossain said in this regard that the arrested Sohel Rana has been handed over to the court. A remand application has not been filed against him yet. Efforts are underway to arrest the other accused and an investigation is underway to determine whether anyone else is involved in the incident.