A brawl broke out in front of Bakshi Bazar Government Primary School polling center between Awami League and BNP supporters at Ward no 27.
Locals in the area on Saturday told Dhaka Tribune that five or six crude bombs went off when the clash broke out.
Locals also told journalists that BNP supporters hurled brickbats at the Awami League supporters when BNP councillor candidate Shaheda Morshed was barred from entering the polling station with her supporters.
Awami League supporters retaliated, and the two rival groups started hurling brickbats at each other. Moreover, bombs were hurled by both the groups, which created further unrest.
BNP councillor candidate Shaheda Morshed told journalists that her supporters did not initiate the fight.
“We heard the sounds of bombs going off. We were really scared for our lives,” she added.
The polling station’s Presiding Officer Mostafizur Rahman said voting was halted for a few minutes because of the unrest.
Witnesses also told journalists that the bombs were hurled from a two-storied building next to the polling station.
After visiting the polling station, Executive Magistrate Hasina Islam told journalists: “Our main concern is the polling station itself. Everything is going fine inside the polling station. Both the parties are blaming each other for the clash that happened outside the polling station.”
When contacted, Chawk Bazar police station Officer-In-Charge Moudud Hawladar told Dhaka Tribune that there had been a clash between two rival groups, but the situation was brought under control.
“The situation is under control now. The clash lasted only for few minutes. The voters are casting their votes peacefully now,” added Hawladar.
However, BNP and Awami League councillor candidates alleged that their agents were injured in the clash.
