Cumilla voting disrupted as 38 ballots declared void after attack

Voting in Cumilla-10 was halted for 90 minutes after a group stormed a polling centre in Lalmai and tried to "seize" ballots to seal for a specific symbol.

The incident occurred on Thursday afternoon at Chouddadona Government Primary School, said Presiding Officer Md Amzad Hossain.

Officials recovered 38 stamped ballots, all declared invalid. None were inserted into ballot boxes.

Police restored order, and voting resumed at 3pm after being suspended from 1:30pm.

“A group of people suddenly entered the centre and forcibly went into three rooms, attempting to snatch ballot papers,” said Amzad.

He confirmed that the group did not succeed in putting any stamped ballots into the boxes.

He said 38 sealed ballots were declared invalid.

Regarding the identities of those involved, he said they were outsiders, and it was not possible to identify any of the attackers.

Lalmai Upazila’s Assistant Returning Officer Umme Tahmina Mitu said three people have been arrested in connection with the incident.