Press owner confesses making voter seals upon orders from Jamaat leader

The owner of a printing press arrested in connection with the recovery of six illegal voting seals in Lakshmipur has given a confessional statement in court. He made the confession under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure yesterday, Wednesday afternoon. At the time, he disclosed the name of the person who had instructed him to make the voting seals.

The accused who gave the confession is Sohel Rana (40), resident of Tumchar union in Sadar upazila and the proprietor of Mariam Press.

On Tuesday afternoon, police arrested Sohel Rana from Mariam Press on Old Court Road in the town, seizing six illegal voting seals, a computer, and a mobile phone used in the operation.

Officer-in-Charge of Lakshmipur Sadar Model Police Station, Wahed Parvez, confirmed the matter of the confessional statement to Prothom Alo. He said, “Sohel Rana told the court that the seals were made on the instructions of Jamaat-e-Islami leader Saurav Hossain, also known as Sharif. On 30 January, Sharif placed the order to make the seals through WhatsApp. Sohel Rana then made the seals.”

Saurav Hossain, also known as Sharif (34), named in the confession, is the son of Md Shahjahan of Ward No. 4 of the municipality. He is the secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami in that ward. Since the incident came to light, he has been in hiding.

After the incident became public, Jamaat-e-Islami expelled Saurav Hossain, accusing him of tarnishing the party’s image.

When asked about the matter, district Jamaat ameer SUM Ruhul Amin Bhuiyan said, “We expelled Saurav from the party immediately after the incident. He apparently had the seals made to ‘teach voters how to vote.’ However, this was an irresponsible act. Besides, the person from whose shop the seals were recovered is not a member of our party.”

Earlier, on Tuesday afternoon, police arrested Sohel Rana along with the voting seals. After the incident became public, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) candidate for Lakshmipur-3 constituency, Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Annie, expressed concern and held a press conference later that day. Speaking at the press conference at his main election office, he said, “We have learned that the person arrested with the seals, named Sohel Rana, is a Jamaat worker. He may even hold an official position. Six seals along with a computer have been seized. Whoever made these seals, there must certainly be many cogs behind it. There is an entire plan of election engineering at play.”

After the BNP’s press conference, Jamaat-e-Islami held a press conference at the Lakshmipur Press Club at around 10:00 pm the same night. There, Jamaat-e-Islami’s candidate for the Lakshmipur-3 constituency, Rezaul Karim, said, “BNP is spreading falsehoods by linking Jamaat with the person arrested along with the voting seals.”

A senior police official, speaking to Prothom Alo on condition of anonymity, said the recovered seals are being investigated with due seriousness. The investigation is proceeding along two lines. First, it is being examined whether the seals were made for the purpose of training or rehearsing voters. Second, it is also under investigation whether there was any plan to use them on ballot papers on election day to rig votes or for any dishonest purpose.

Officer-in-Charge of Lakshmipur Sadar Model Police Station, Wahed Parvez, said, “After the confession, we are examining the motive behind the making of the seals and whether anyone else was involved. In the interest of the investigation, the seized evidence is being examined.”