Bangladesh Poll: Polling Booths Set Ablaze, Opposition Starts Election Strike
On the eve of Sunday’s parliamentary elections, polling places in Bangladesh were set on fire, just hours after a suspected arson assault on a commuter train claimed the lives of four people.
Police on Saturday said unidentified arsonists set fire to at least five primary schools, including four polling stations.
They were investigating fires that were started in the middle of the night in Gazipur, an area outside of the capital Dhaka, by people who could have been trying to sabotage the polls, which the major opposition party has vowed to boycott.
“We have intensified patrolling and remain on high alert,” said Gazipur police chief Kazi Shafiqul Alam.
The election commission has asked authorities to increase security around polling stations.
On the eve of Sunday’s parliamentary elections, polling places in Bangladesh were set on fire, just hours after a suspected arson assault on a commuter train claimed the lives of four people.
Police on Saturday said unidentified arsonists set fire to at least five primary schools, including four polling stations.
They were investigating fires that were started in the middle of the night in Gazipur, an area outside of the capital Dhaka, by people who could have been trying to sabotage the polls, which the major opposition party has vowed to boycott.
“We have intensified patrolling and remain on high alert,” said Gazipur police chief Kazi Shafiqul Alam.
The election commission has asked authorities to increase security around polling stations.
