Police arrest five over fire at two polling centres in Mymensingh before election

Two of the five suspects have confessed to their parts in the arson attacks, police say

Police have arrested five people for their alleged involvement in arson attacks on two polling stations in Mymensingh’s Nandail and Gafargaon Upazilas.

The suspects were arrested from several parts of the district on Saturday after the attacks in the morning, said Masum Ahmed Bhuiyan, superintendent of police in the district.

An investigation was ongoing to identify others involved in the incidents, he said.

Despite the damage caused by the fires, polling authorities have said there will be no difficulty in carrying out the voting procedures at Parshipara Government Primary School and Haripur Government Primary School centres.

The arrestees are 24-year-old Ariful Islam, a nightguard of the Parshipara Government Primary School, his friend Sabbir Ahmed, Mohammad Motiur Rahman Ujjal, 45, Mohammad Sohail, 40, and Abdul Qayyum Mojnu, 50.

Mohammad Shahinuzzaman, the chief of Gafargaon Police Station, said Ariful and his friend Sabbir were paid Tk 2,000 by a BNP leader from Dhaka to set fire to the polling centre at Parshipara Government Primary School.

Both Arif and Sabbir have confessed to the police about their involvement in setting fire to the polling booths, according to Shahinuzzman.

Abdul Majeed, the chief of Nandail Police Station, said the three people arrested over the attack on Haripur Government Primary School centre are involved with the BNP, which has launched a hartal, or shutdown, to disrupt the election.