Eight die in post-union council election violence in four Bangladesh districts

Clashes in four union councils of as many districts during the counting of votes after daylong election have left at least eight people dead.

Quoting police, bdnews24.com correspondents from Pirojpur, Netrokona, Cox’s Bazar, and Sirajganj said all the incidents took place on Tuesday evening after balloting in the ninth Union Parishad (UP) ended.

Five people died in a clash in Pirojpur, while one person each was killed in the violence in the three other districts.

The daylong vote at 712 UPs had ended without any major violence in the afternoon.

Voting was suspended at 65 polling centres due to irregularities and minor incidents of violence, but no one was killed during the vote.

The news of deaths in clashes during the counting and announcement of results started coming in the evening.

Pirojpur Superintendent of Police Abu Ashraf said Awami League activists had laid siege to the Dhanisafa Degree College centre where the counting was under way.

Police opened fire at around 9pm when the ruling party workers refused to move away after hearing that their candidate was losing.

He said three persons died on the spot while three others passed away on way to hospital in Barisal.

Later, Barisal SP Walid Hossain confirmed that two men died when the injured were being taken to a hospital there.

Awami League candidate Abu Ishak's brother Golam Kausar was 'shot dead' while he and his supporters were allegedly snatching away ballot boxes at Khaliajurhi Union Parishad in Netrokona.

The bdnews24.com correspondent there saw Kausar being taken to a hospital after police had fired from their guns at people who were trying to snatch ballot boxes.

Police confirmed the death, but did not say if he was killed in their firing. Additional SP Khan Mohammad Abu Naser only said, "We are investigating."

Clashes erupted in two centres at Teknaf in Cox's Bazar when the results were being announced.

Twenty people were wounded in police firing at Mundardail centre at around 10pm.

One of them, Abdul Gafur, 35, a brother of rebel Awami League candidate Nur Hossain died when he was being transferred from the Upazila Health Complex to Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital.

Another person was reportedly killed when police opened fire on warring supporters of rival candidates at Majherparha centre. Police could not confirm the news.

In Sirajganj's Raiganj, supporters of a defeated candidate of Dhangarha UP allegedly attacked the followers of the winner, killing his mother-in-law.

SP Motaher Hossain said he heard that a woman had died in a clash.