Hearing on the charge sheet filed against Sylhet district BNP convener and former lawmaker Ilyas Ali and 47 others will be held at the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court today.

Earlier on March 29, police filed the charge sheet against Ilyas, Biswanath upazila parishad Vice-chairman Gous Khan and 46 others of Biswanath upazila BNP for snatching ballot papers from police two days after the December 29 parliament polls, court sources said.

Biswanath upazila BNP Vice President Sohel Ahmed Chowdhury and expatriate BNP leader Gous Khan are also among the charge-sheeted people.

Thirty-two people had been made prosecution witnesses in the case.

Gous Khan, who was later elected vice-chairman of Biswanath upazila parishad, is now staying in the UK.

Defeating Ilyas Ali, grand alliance nominee and UK chapter AL Joint Secretary Shafiqur Rahman Chowdhury was elected from Sylhet-2 constituency comprising Biswanath and Balaganj upazilas on December 29 polls. Two ballot papers were recovered from a paddy field behind Dohalia Government Primary School on December 31.

Ilyas raised allegation of irregularities and took away the ballot papers from a police officer the same night. Several hundred BNP men gathered for protest, but police foiled it. Fourteen 14 days after the incident, ASI Syed Md Abdul Mannan of Biswanth Police Station on 14 January night filed a case accusing 300 unnamed people and 50 other named ones including Ilyas. Immediately five people were caught. They later got bail.

Ilyas and the other accused were granted bail from the High Court.

Names of two FIR-listed persons had been dropped from the charge sheet. They are Abdul Mumin Khan and MashukMiah.