Princh Mondal Olif | Bagerhat Correspondent

Police have arrested a man in Bagerhat's Mongla upazila on allegations of forging the name, designation and signature of State Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Dr Sheikh Faridul Islam and using them for alleged lobbying and influence-peddling.

The arrestee, Md Kamruzzaman Tuku, 35, was detained during a raid at his residence in Haldibunia village under Chila Union around midnight on Sunday, police said.

A seal bearing the state minister's name and designation, along with a stamp pad, was seized during the operation, according to investigators.

Kamruzzaman is the son of the late Nurul Islam Sheikh of Haldibunia village.

Md Refatul Islam, Senior Assistant Superintendent of Police (Mongla Circle), said the operation was launched following intelligence that a group had been using the state minister's identity to carry out alleged lobbying activities.

"Using technical surveillance, we identified the suspect's location and conducted the raid. We recovered a seal bearing the state minister's name and designation," the police official said.

He added that a regular case has been filed with Mongla Police Station. The suspect is being questioned, and investigators are trying to determine whether others were involved in the alleged forgery and misuse of the minister's identity.

Police said legal action would be taken against anyone found to be connected to the incident after the investigation is completed.