Upazila Polls: Violence claims two lives in Bandarban

Two people were killed and several others, including two law enforcers, were injured as violence erupted at a union parishad election in Bandarban yesterday.  

The dead were identified as Mong Khisa Tanchangya, 55, and Aung Chai Mong Tanchangya, 45, from Naikhyangchhari upazila. They were the followers of Awami League candidate Babul Tanchangya.

Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Sadia Afrin said a clash took place between the followers of Babul and his rival Ahmad Ali, the BNP candidate, at Patrajhiri Government Primary School centre around 2:45pm. 

To bring the situation under control, BGB men opened fire to disperse the crowd, she said.

Du Mong Tangchangya, a witness, told The Daily Star that during the firing, Mong Khisa tried to flee the spot but the BGB men went after him and shot him. Mong died on the spot. 

Another victim, Aung Chai, got hit by a bullet during the clash. He was rushed to Ukhiya upazila Health Complex in Cox’s Bazar where doctors declared him dead around 4:30pm, he added.

Contacted, BGB Cox’s Bazar region commander Brig Gen Shazedur Rahman said the BGB men opened fire to defend themselves as the agitators attacked them. 

Two BGB members were also injured during the clash, he added.

A man casting vote on an EVM at Nabinagar municipal polls in Brahmanbaria. Photo: Collected

Mohammed Rezaul Karim, the district election officer, confirmed that two people were killed in the clash. He, however, said people continued voting despite the incident.

Meanwhile, BNP-backed candidates boycotted the upazila polls over allegations of irregularities in Chattogram and Jhenidah.

During the Satkania upazila polls in Chattogram, the presence of voters was poor in most polling centres, while BNP candidate Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury boycotted the polls over allegations of irregularities by AL men.

AL-backed candidate MA Motaleb denied the allegations.

The Daily Star correspondent visited 14 polling centres in the upazila and found only one that had a queue of voters outside it. Some 50 voters were seen in front of Chibbari Government Primary School centre around 11:50am. 

No BNP polling agent was seen at any of the polling stations.

When asked, Shariful Alam, a presiding officer at the primary school centre, said no polling agent for the BNP candidate came to report in the morning. 

He added that very few voters came to vote, as only 10 percent of the votes were cast in the 125 centres till 12:00 noon.

In Jhenidah, BNP’s chairman aspirants at Kotchandpur and Maheshpur upazilas boycotted the election over allegations of irregularities by AL men. 

Abdur Razzak of Kotchandpur upazila and Sahjaman Mohon of Maheshpur upazila said this during a joint press conference at Kotchandpur Press Club.

Both of them alleged that the ruling party men were preventing voters and BNP men from going to the polling centres.