DHAKA, April 24, 2024 (BSS)- The High Court (HC) has asked the concerned

parties to submit a list showing how many Rohingyas have been made voters
fraudulently in Cox's Bazar.

At the time, the High Court also ordered to exclude 35 Rohingyas from the
existing voter list.

A High Court Division Bench consisting of Justice Naima Haider and Justice
Kazi Zeenat Haque passed the order today following the preliminary hearing of
a writ petition in this regard.

"Since 2016, with the connivance of the Chairman of Eidgaon Union Parishad of
Eidgaon upazila of Cox's Bazar and some powerful so-called public
representatives, at least 370 Rohingyas were given multiple fake documents
including birth registration and voter ID cards in exchange for money," said
lawyer Mohammad Siddiq Ullah Mia, also the petitioner of the writ.

"Some of the local residents protested but as no action was taken, a
complaint was filed against the accused. The complainant even mentioned names
of 38 Rohingyas who got voter ID cards."

According to the documents, the report submitted by police on October 29,
2023 found that 35 out of 38 Rohingyas named in the complaint possessed voter
ID cards.

Despite being asked to drop those names, the Union Parishad (UP) election
schedule was announced keeping those Rohingya voters in the list.

In this regard, a local resident named Mohammad Hamid filed a writ in the
High Court.

In the writ, the secretary of the local government department, the chief
election commissioner, the election commission secretary, the registrar
general and 17 related persons were made respondents.

The High Court today asked the defendants to remove the names from the voter
list and submit a report by June 6, and to investigate how many Rohingyas
have voter ID cards in Cox's Bazar district.