Deadly clashes between law enforcers and 18-party activists across the country left at least 20 people killed as the opposition men attempted to take over polling centres to wreck the polls.
Of the victims, four died in Thakurgaon, and another four in Dinajpur, two each in Rangpur, Nilphamari and Feni while one died in each of Chittagong, Naogaon, Laxmipur, Munshiganj, Gaibandha, and Jessore districts.
In most cases, the incidents happened when the law enforcers guarding polling centres opened fire on marauding opposition men.
An Ansar member in Dinajpur was beaten to death by the unruly opposition men while several others of his colleagues and election conducting officials sustained injuries.
The violence also rocked a good number of polling centres with bomb blasts, arson, clashes and gunfights. The attackers snatched and burned down election materials in many other polling centres. Voters also received injuries in some places of the country.
There were reports of snatching and burning ballot papers and boxes from 27 districts. Violent clashes left more than 100 people injured, said district correspondents of the Dhaka Tribune.
Voting was postponed in at least 440 polling centres across the country.
Frustrated over the one-sided nature of the elections, voters were also scared of widespread violence that began with attacks on the polling centres on Friday night.
In Thakurgaon, four opposition activists were killed in a clash with police and pro-government activists as they tried to snatch ballot papers.
Faisal Mahmud, superintendent of police in Thakurgaon, said Joynal Abedin, 35, and Faruque, 28, died when police fired on some protesters who attacked Sadar upazila’s Basudebpur polling centre around 2pm. Eight others sustained major injuries.
At Gopalpur Primary School of Deuniakkha Bazar in Shukhanpuri, two opposition supporters were killed as pro-government activists threw arrows at them during a clash. Md Hanif, 25, and Lutfur Rahman, 40, died when they tried to take away the ballot boxes.
In Dinajpur’s Parbatipur, the Jamaat-Shibir activists beat to death an Ansar man and injured five more persons including the presiding officer of Uttar Salandarpur Government Primary School centre when they tried to resist the attackers. Two more Ansar member and two voters were also injured.
Sohel Rana, publicity secretary of Shibir’s district unit, claimed the responsibility of killing Md Wahed Ali, the Ansar platoon commander.
Paban Kumar Sarker, the presiding officer, said Jamaat-Shibir men armed with sticks swooped on the polling centre around 11:00am. As the Ansar men and the election officials tried to resist them, they beat them indiscriminately.
Injured Wahed ran for cover but he died around a kilometre off the spot.
Meanwhile, hundreds of anti-polls campaigners attacked Mohammadpur Co-operative High School centre intermittently in the district headquarters. At one stage Masudur Rahman, a local leader of Jatiya Ganatantri Party, was bullet-hit and died. It was not clear who shot at him.
In another incident, Chunnu was killed in a clash between the BNP and the AL men in front of Khorakhai Baiswapara Government Primary School centre at Hoiburpur village of the upazila.
Local BNP leader Babul Hossain, 45, was killed in police firing during a clash between the anti-election activists and the police in Sadar upazila.
In Rangpur, two Jamaat activists were killed as the police opened fire while they were trying to seize two polling centres in Pirgachha upazila, confirmed Maqbul Hossain, officer-in-charge of Pirgachha police.
The victims were Merajul Islam, 35, and Hadiuzzaman, 16. The incidents took place between 2am and 3:30am.
Two people including a Jamaat activist were killed in police firing in Dimla and Jaldhaka upazila of Nilphamari. They are Jahangir Alam, 22, and Mamtajul Haque, 45.
In Sonagazi upazila of Feni, two opposition supporters died in clashes with the law enforcers around 10am after they attacked North Charchandia Primary School around 10am. Five others including two policemen were shot, Sonagazi OC Subhash Chandra told the Dhaka Tribune.
The victims were Sharif, 25, and Sonagazi unit Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal General Secretary Jamshed Alam, 26.
In Chittagong, a Shibir activist died in clashes with the police while attempting an attack on a polling station in Lohagara in the afternoon. The deceased could not be named immediately.
In Naogaon, a BNP activist was killed and six others injured as the joint forces opened fire on them in Manda upazila. The deceased was Babul Hossain, 25.
Opposition supporters were advancing towards two adjoining polling centres in Ramnagar village with local weapons around 11am when members of joint forces told them to return, said OC Abdullahel Baki of Manda police station.
In Lakshmipur, Shibir activist Md Rubel died when the Jamaat-Shibir men attacked Masumpur Primary School centre in Ramganj upazila. A policeman was also injured while thwarting the attempt to snatch away ballot boxes in Ramganj 1 constituency. The presiding officer of this polling station had to run away for safety.
Kangkan, 24, joint secretary of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal’s Shimulia union unit, died when he jumped into a ditch chased by police in Tongibari upazila of Munshiganj. He was trying to hurl a petrol bomb at Dakshin Kathadia-Shimulia Primary School polling centre around 5:50am, said local UNO Nasreen Parvin.
A Shibir man was killed and 22 people were injured during a clash between the AL and the Jamaat-Shibir activists in Sundarganj upazila, reports our Gaibandha correspondent. The deceased was Shahabul Islam, 22. Sadar circle ASP Abu Tareq said presiding officer, two policemen and some Ansar members were also injured during the clash.
A Jamaat activist died after he was shot when the party supporters attacked Bajitpur polling centre in Jessore’s Jubradanga around 2pm. SP of Jessore Joydeb Bhadra confirmed the incident.
Opposition activists blasted bombs, vandalised polling centres and swooped on law enforcers, election conducting officers and the voters in many places across the country including Lalmonirhat, Bogra, Jhenaidah, Jessore Chittagong, Rajshahi and Satkhira.
In Bogra, two police constables and a presiding officer received splinter injuries when the opposition men hurled several crude bombs during a clash with law enforcers in Gabtoli in the morning.
At Satkania in Chittagong, they broke hands of Presiding Officer Jamal Uddin of Dhemsha Baruapara Primary School centre and beat up two of his assistants and seven others including a police official around 1pm.
In Chittagong town, a gang of masked men torched a stationed mini-truck requisitioned by police and exploded four crude bombs in front of Mandaritola Primary School in Sitakunda upazila around 11:15am.
