Narayanganj Correspondent

Rupganj Police Station has identified 63 out of 185 vote centres as vulnerable in Narayanganj constituency 1 for the upcoming general election.

Violence is reportedly on the rise as terrorists are being organised in Rupganj. Due to different incidents of violence, candidates opposing the boat symbol candidate are considering most of the vote centres in Rupganj risky due to the violence centring the election.

Locals alleged that the apprehension has increased manifold following different untoward incidents, including an attack on the electoral campaign of an independent candidate and an arson attack on the electoral camp, in the last several days.

In the upcoming election, a total of nine candidates of different political parties, including independent, are contesting in Narayanganj-1 constituency.

In this constituency, Golam Dastgir Gazi, a candidate of the boat symbol, the newly resigned upazila chairman and general secretary of the upazila Awami League, who is an independent candidate with the ‘kettle’ symbol, Shahjahan Bhuiyan, Secretary General of Trinamool BNP Dr Taimur Alam Khandakar, Jatiya Party’s Saiful Islam, and Zaker Party’s Jobayer Alam are active in the electioneering.

The total number of voters in the constituency is 3 lakh, 85 thousand, and 6 hundred 16. But, due to the violence, the candidates are skeptical about the presence of voters at the polling stations.

Last Monday night, the law enforcers arrested Mahfuz, a supporter of Golam Dastgir Gazi, with a foreign pistol and drugs from the Golakandail area of the upazila. On this day, the terrorists burned the election camp of the kettle symbol in Nawra and Ponab areas.

Raiding houses of the supporters of the Kettle symbol, money, and gold ornaments were allegedly looted in the Gutulia area. Earlier, the camp of the Kettle symbol was burned in Kalni Bazar. A bus driver named Shahin from Chanpara Rehabilitation Center was injured with a machete.

Rupganj Police Station Officer-in-Charge (Investigation) Jobayer Hossain said 63 centres in Rupganj have been identified as vulnerable.

Cops will be deployed at all the centres, he said.

Assistant Returning Officer and Rupganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer Ahsan Mahmud Russell said, “We generally categorise centers as risky when they are located in remote areas with poor communication systems. The communication system in the centres of Rupganj is not so bad, but we are working on identifying some centres as risky. In Rupganj, the law enforcers will remain active in all centres. I hope that the election will be held in a free and fair manner."