Locals have demanded that a magistrate be punished in connection with the deaths of four people. The four were reportedly killed by BGB personnel during polls clashes at Baliadighi union under Gabtoli upazila of Bogra on Wednesday evening.
The deceased were identified as housewife Kulsum Akhter, vegetable trader Abdur Rashid, rickshaw puller Alamgir Hossain and farmer Khorshed Ali.
According to locals, Shajahanpur Upazila Nirbahi Officer Shakil Ahmed, who is also the acting magistrate, was responsible for the casualties.
Deputy Commissioner Ziaul Haque told reporters that the presiding officer would file a case as a plaintiff in the incident. “In addition, shootings and other incidents will be investigated.”
Chairman Yunus Ali Fakir, of the winning boat symbol, said: “Shakil had been stationed at Kalaihata Government Primary School since the morning and had shown great sternness. Later, we found out that he is a relative of BNP chairman candidate Shakiul Islam Titu Mandal.”
Voting was held in a festive and peaceful atmosphere throughout the day on Wednesday. The situation became heated when the on-duty magistrate took the initiative to count the ballot boxes at the upazila sadar.
At first, the law enforcers tried to calm the situation by firing tear shells. At one stage, when the situation deteriorated further, BGB members fired at least 25 rounds through the windows of the schoolroom on the instructions of Shakil.
When the news spread, hundreds of villagers surrounded the centre and blocked the road with wooden sticks. Later, when additional forces arrived at the scene, the situation calmed down.
A total of 2,370 votes were collected out of 3,022, where boat candidate Yunus Ali Fakir got 1,891 votes, BNP independent candidates Shakiul Islam Titu Mandal got 246 votes and Mahbubur Rahman got 115 votes.
Regarding the allegations, Shakil Ahmed said that the chairman candidate with the boat symbol had pushed the situation beyond control by spreading false rumours to ensure his victory. “BNP independent candidate Shakiul Islam is not my relative.”
"None of us wanted to take the ballot box to the upazila headquarters. Instead, Yunus Ali obstructed the counting of votes. He is responsible for these unfortunate incidents,” he added.
In another incident, a man was stabbed to death during a clash between supporters of two member candidates on Wednesday afternoon during the voting for Rameswarpur UP in Gabtoli.