Violence broke out in Khulna on Saturday during the ongoing general elections in Bangladesh, where supporters of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami clashed. A senior BNP leader died in this clash. This is said to be the first official murder recorded on the day of voting. After the incident, the administration has deployed army to control the situation in the area.
What does the administration say?
According to local media reports, a controversy broke out over allegations of rigging shortly after the voting began at an Alia Madrasa center in Khulna. It is alleged that this dispute took a violent turn. During this, former BNP office secretary Hifuzzaman Kochi was seriously injured and later died. Police officials said that the body has been sent for post-mortem and investigation into the case is going on. Investigation is being done by capturing CCTV footage from the incident site and surrounding areas. The administration says that efforts are being made to normalize the situation.
BNP leaders have claimed that the management of the madrasa where this incident took place is linked to the Jamaat. They allege that when their leaders reached there to monitor the voting process, an altercation took place between the two sides, which soon turned into fighting and then violence.
News of cocktail bomb being thrown at the polling station
There has also been news of cocktail bomb being thrown at a polling booth in Gopalganj Sadar Upazila. Three people are said to be injured in this attack. Gopalganj is considered a stronghold of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and there is a tense atmosphere there since morning.
Even in the capital Dhaka, a round of allegations and counter-allegations continues regarding voting. Jamaat has alleged irregular voting in 13 booths of Dhaka-15 area. Whereas independent candidate Tasneem Jara has claimed that she was thrown out of a centre. He is contesting from Dhaka-9 seat.
Expressing concern over these incidents, BNP President Tariq Rehman has demanded immediate intervention from security agencies. Voting is taking place on 299 parliamentary seats in the country and a majority of 150 seats is required to form the government. A tough contest is being seen between BNP and Jamaat in this election. Tariq Rehman is among the main contenders for the post of Prime Minister. His mother Khaleda Zia had previously been the Prime Minister of the country.
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