Shop owner arrested with ‘voting seals’, BNP, Jamaat hold press briefings

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami candidates have held separate press briefings following the arrest of a man in possession of six illegal voting seals, allegedly intended for use in the Lakshmipur-3 (Sadar) constituency election, trading accusations over the incident.

At the press briefings held on Tuesday night, the BNP candidate claimed that the arrested individual was a Jamaat activist.

The Jamaat candidate, however, rejected the allegation and demanded a proper and impartial investigation into the matter.

Earlier on Tuesday afternoon, police arrested a shop owner, Sohel Rana, 40, from Mariam Press on Old Court Road in Lakshmipur town. During the operation, officers recovered six illegal voting seals, a computer and a mobile phone.

Sohel Rana is a resident of Tumchar union in Sadar upazila and the proprietor of the press.

At around 8:30 pm, the local BNP organised a press briefing at its central election office on Godown Road in the town.

BNP candidate for Lakshmipur-3, Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Anee, alleged that the arrested man was affiliated with Jamaat-e-Islami.

“We have learned that the person arrested with the seals, Sohel Rana, is a Jamaat activist, possibly holding an organisational post,” Anee said.

“Six seals and a computer have been seized. Whoever made these seals, there is clearly a larger network behind this and a calculated plan of election engineering,” he added.

The BNP leader demanded the authorities conduct an investigation to unearth whether any candidate or political leader had instigated the production of the seals and ensure exemplary punishment for those involved.

He also called for strict measures to prevent fake voting and electoral fraud at all polling centres.

Raising further concerns, Anee said the administration must examine whether additional seals had been produced elsewhere, adding that the possibility of illegal ballot printing could not be ruled out.

He urged the authorities to remain alert and take preventive action.

In response, Jamaat-e-Islami held its own press briefing at the Lakshmipur Press Club at around 10:00 pm.

Addressing the conference, Jamaat candidate for the constituency, Rezaul Karim, accused the BNP of spreading falsehoods by attempting to link the incident to his party.

“Immediately after any such incident, Jamaat-e-Islami becomes the target of allegations, just as happened repeatedly in the past,” Rezaul Karim said.

“The arrested individual, Sohel Rana, has no connection with Jamaat. We strongly condemn and protest this despicable act and demand that the administration identify those truly responsible through a proper investigation,” he added.

Officer-in-charge of Lakshmipur sadar model police station, Wahed Parvez, said a case had been filed against Sohel Rana over the production of illegal voting seals.

“During preliminary interrogation, Sohel Rana told police that he was producing the seals after receiving an order,” the officer said. “However, he did not disclose who placed the order. The investigation is ongoing.”