Four individuals have been imprisoned today on charges related to ballot manipulation during the 13th national election and referendum in three districts. In Panchagarh, Sukumar Das, the Atwari upazila unit convener of Jatiya Jubo Shakti, was sentenced to three years in jail for possessing sample ballot papers. The electoral judicial court, under Assistant Judge Rana Pervez, imposed the sentence and a fine of Tk 10,000 after a summary trial. Sukumar was apprehended at Atwari Pilot High School polling center with sample ballots and was detained by BNP supporters before being handed over to law enforcement. Following a swift trial, he was sent to Panchagarh jail.
In Kushtia, a young man named Shahin Malitha was sentenced to three years in prison and fined Tk 1,000 for attempting to abscond with a ballot paper from Talbaria High School polling center in the Kushtia-2 constituency. Shahin tried to flee after placing a blank paper instead of a ballot paper into the box and was caught in the act. He confessed to the offense, leading to the judicial magistrate sentencing him to imprisonment and the fine.
In Habiganj, a youth named Nasir was sentenced to two years in prison for causing a disturbance at a polling center in the Habiganj-2 constituency. The altercation between supporters of two different candidates led to his detention, and a mobile court sentenced him to imprisonment. Additionally, locally made weapons were found at Nasir’s residence by army personnel.
At the Bagahata polling center in the same district, seven teenagers were detained for suspicious behavior but were released after voting upon providing bonds from their guardians. Another incident involved a UK expatriate named Golam Rasul, who was sentenced to five days in jail for tearing a ballot paper and causing disorder at a polling center in Nabiganj upazila. Rasul objected to the voting environment, tore a ballot paper, and engaged in a confrontation with army personnel. The Nabiganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer conducted the mobile court and handed down the sentence for disrupting the voting process and damaging the ballot paper. Rasul was subsequently sent to Habiganj district jail.