At least three people have been killed and 10 others injured in a shootout between supporters of two chairman candidates in Narsingdi during voting for the second phase of the union parishad (UP) polls that kicked off in Bangladesh on Thursday morning.
The incident occurred during clashes between supporters of an Awami League (AL) nominee and an AL's rebel candidate in Bashgari union, a remote char area in Raipura upazila.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (Raipura Circle) Satyajit Kumar confirmed the matter to Bangla Tribune.
The deceased have been identified as Salahuddin Mia, and Dulal Mia, supporters of Ashraful Islam, an AL-backed candidate for the post of Bashgari UP chairman; and one Md Jahangir.
Speaking to Bangla Tribune, Satyajit Kumar, said a clash between the supporters of AL rebel candidate Zakir Hossain and AL-backed candidate Ashraful Islam left the trio dead.
The bodies have been taken to Narsingdi district and Sadar hospitals for autopsy, he added.
Meanwhile, local Returning Officer Mezbah Uddin said: “Despite the clashes, the polling is moving forward uninterruptedly. Although the situation is currently under control, from time to time police are having to step in to stop opposition supporters from getting into conflicts.”
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Voting for the second phase of the UP polls is currently underway in Bangladesh, with over 41,000 candidates in the fray for different posts.
Polling began in 835 of 848 UPs at 8am on Thursday and will continue till 4pm.
A total of 81 chairman candidates have already been elected unopposed. Similarly, all contestants -- for chairman and member posts, and reserved seats -- in five UPs were elected uncontested.
More than 41,000 candidates, including 3,310 contenders for the post of chairman, are contesting in the countrywide second phase UP election.
Some 28,747 candidates are contesting for the member posts and 9,161 women for the reserved seats in the UPs.
But 203 member candidates and 73 women candidates for reserved seats were elected unopposed in this phase.
There are nearly 16.6 million voters -- 8,405,831 men, 8,189,379 women and 16 transgender (Hijra) -- under 8,492 polling stations in these UPs.
