Several voting centres in Feni and Lakshmipur were hit by violence hours after voting opened yesterday.


By Mizan Rahman/Dhaka

At least two persons were killed and several injured yesterday as sporadic violence and incidents of ballot snatching marred the third phase of the upzila (sub-district) council elections in Bangladesh.
In Bagerhat’s Kachua sub-district, a Islami Chattra Shibir activist, identified as Manjarul Islam, 24, was killed when his group clashed with opposition supporters.
In another incident in Shariatpur, a man was killed when police opened fire on a group as they tried to snatch ballot boxes from a polling station in Naria sub-district.
The victim was identified as Ripon Majhi, 26, a local construction worker.
Witnesses said a group swooped on Bagbari Primary School polling centre and tried to snatch ballot boxes minutes after the voting closed, trigging a clash with police.
At one stage, the law enforcers opened fire on the rowdy group, killing Majhi on the spot.
Chauddagram BNP-backed candidate Kamrul Huda demanded suspension of the voting on allegations of irregularities and vote-rigging.
Besides, voting at a polling centre was suspended due to sporadic clashes between the supporters of rival groups at Barella union of Burichang sub-district.
Police detained seven people for trespassing into a polling station in Brahmanpara sub-district.
In Chittagong, Awami League-backed candidate’s supporters torched two houses and candle factory of BNP-Jamaat supporters at Terial area.
A man was injured in the incident, while an army man, who was at his ancestral house on leave sustained injuries as he went to douse the fire.
At least seven people were injured when the supporters of an Awami League-backed candidate attacked the motorcade of the rival candidate in Chandnaish sub-district.
In another incident, police arrested three supporters of Awami League-backed candidate Abdul Kashem when they allegedly tried to capture the Dohazari union parishad complex polling centre.
A woman was injured as a crude bomb went off at Mahini polling centre in Nangalkot sub-district.
The polling began at 8am and ended at 4pm.
A total of 1,119 candidates contested the elections against 243 posts in the 81 sub-districts. Of them, 419 are chairman candidates, 423 vice chairman contenders and 277 vice chairman candidates for reserved seats for women.
Yesterday’s sub-district polls witnessed unprecedented vote rigging allegedly by the ruling Awami League activists to avenge their defeats in the first and second phase elections.  
The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) alleged that the ruling party men with the help of law enforcers captured many polling centres in 41 districts.
“We had expressed our apprehension that the ruling party was conspiring to manipulate the election results in favour of its candidates. Our apprehension came true as ruling party cadres were involved in booth capturing,” said BNP joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.
The BNP alleged that the election commission and police officials worked in favour of the ruling party candidates in 81 sub-districts.
“The upzila polls again proved that no free and fair election can be held under the incumbent election commission,” Rizvi
alleged.