A Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader was killed on Thursday as violence erupted outside a polling centre in Khulna district as voting was underway.
The deceased BNP leader has been identified as Mohibuzzaman Kachi. He reportedly died after suffering head injuries following an altercation that broke out in the Khulna Alia Madrasa polling station this morning.
The BNP elections steering committee press wing said Kachi was pushed by Jamaat-e-Islami supporters, causing him to fall and sustain a head injury, when he tried to stop them from allegedly manipulating votes at the centre.
He was taken to a hospital where doctors declared him dead, they said.
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On the other hand, three persons were injured after a crude bomb exploded at a polling centre in Bangladesh’s Gopalganj district this morning during the country’s general elections, officials said.
Despite the blast, polling continued without interruption, according to local authorities. Security forces stepped up vigilance in sensitive areas and intensified patrolling to prevent further incidents. The explosion injured two on-duty Ansar members, a paramilitary auxiliary force and a child accompanying a voter, triggering panic among the voters.
Polls have formally closed in Bangladesh’s landmark election, which is seen as a direct contest between Tarique Rahman’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and a coalition of 11 parties, led by the resurgent Jamaat-e-Islami party’s chief, Shafiqur Rahman.
