Election Commission removes Upazila officer for fraudulent national identity cards

The Bangladesh Election Commission has removed Upazila Election Officer Md. Mazibur Rahman of Jagannathpur, Sunamganj, from service for using voter-roll data to generate national identity cards fraudulently, a penalty announced in The Bangladesh Gazette of 5 November 2026. The removal takes effect from 11 October 2026, the date the President approved the Commission’s proposal. It is published as notification No. 17.00.0000.083.27.002.25.755, dated 30 Ashwin 1433/15 October 2026, by the Election Commission Secretariat.

The action closes a departmental and criminal file against an officer whose duty was to keep the electoral rolls clean. The penalty was imposed under rule 4(3)(gha) of the Government Employees (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 2018, after the Bangladesh Public Service Commission endorsed removal and the Commission recorded that the charge of “misconduct” had been proved. The order appears in Part I of the gazette, 2026 issue No. 45.

What the inquiry established

According to the notification, the officer, while attached to expatriate voter registration work, used false particulars to generate national identity cards, and then sought to register further documents by impersonation:

• Identity cards numbered 1979169016 and 9179032272 were generated under card number 7829020408.
• He attempted to register three identity documents — NIDFN116731144, NIDFN117476637 and NIDFN117535792 — using the false data.
• A team of the NID wing, acting on secret information, conducted a raid on 27 January 2025 and found the relevant file directly in his possession, giving prima facie proof of his involvement.
• The order records that he committed the offence of selling data protected under the national identity system.

The gazette states that, as Registration Officer, he abused his own authority and breached section 20 of the Voter List Act, 2009, together with sections 16, 17 and 18 of the National Identity Registration Act, 2010. It also records that his conduct damaged the credibility of the Commission’s work.

A police case, a suspension and a departmental file

Two tracks ran in parallel. A criminal case, No. 29.00.0000.214.006.44.99, was lodged at the concerned police station, and he was placed under temporary suspension by a separate order. On the disciplinary side, a departmental case, No. 02/2025, was opened for “misconduct” under rule 3(kha) of the 2018 rules, and a show-cause notice was served with the statement of allegations.

His written reply led to a personal hearing on 13 March 2025, at which he defended himself; because of that, the file was referred for inquiry and entrusted to Md. Didar Hossain, then Senior Assistant Secretary (Law-1) of the Election Commission Secretariat and now Deputy Secretary (Law-1). After the inquiry found the allegation proved on the basis of the evidence and the findings, a second show-cause notice was issued under rule 7(9); his reply was found unsatisfactory and he was held guilty.

From recommendation to removal

With the charge established, the Commission decided under rule 4(3)(gha) and rule 7(10) of the 2018 rules — read with proviso 6 of the Bangladesh Government Employees Commission (Advice) Procedural Rules, 1979 — to seek the advice of the Bangladesh Public Service Commission on removal from service. A summary was placed before the President in line with rule 4(6), and approval for removal was granted on 11 October 2026. The gazette therefore removes Md. Mazibur Rahman, identity number 31699001, Upazila Election Officer (temporarily suspended), Jagannathpur, Sunamganj, with effect from 11 October 2026, and states that the order takes effect in the public interest.

For readers, the significance lies in where the fraud occurred: not in a private office but inside the machinery that compiles voter lists and issues identity cards, the two registers on which Bangladeshi elections rest. The gazette fixes both the standards breached and the sanction applied, giving a public record of how the Commission handled one of its own officers. The same issue also carries the Commission’s order declaring a general holiday in the 3 Thakurgaon-1 constituency for the by-election polling day there.

Source: The Bangladesh Gazette, No. 45, 5 November 2026, Part I (official reference: 17.00.0000.083.27.002.25.755).