{"id":44599,"date":"2024-01-06T15:25:02","date_gmt":"2024-01-06T15:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/bangladesh-poll-booths-burn-on-election-eve-train-arson-kills-4-the-express-tribune\/"},"modified":"2024-01-06T15:25:02","modified_gmt":"2024-01-06T15:25:02","slug":"bangladesh-poll-booths-burn-on-election-eve-train-arson-kills-4-the-express-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/bangladesh-poll-booths-burn-on-election-eve-train-arson-kills-4-the-express-tribune\/","title":{"rendered":"Bangladesh poll booths burn on election eve, train arson kills 4 | The Express Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nDHAKA:
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Polling booths were set ablaze in Bangladesh on the eve of Sunday’s general elections, while four people, two children among them, were killed in a train fire that the government decried as arson targeting democratic values.<\/p>\n

Friday’s fire broke out at about 9 p.m. (1500 GMT), injuring eight passengers as it spread to four compartments of the Benapole Express headed for the capital, Dhaka, at a time when the main opposition party is boycotting the elections.<\/p>\n

“The timing of this tragedy, just a day before the election … shows an absolute intention to hinder the festivity, safety and security of the democratic processes of the country,” Foreign Minister A K Abdul Momen said.<\/p>\n

“This reprehensible incident, undoubtedly orchestrated by those with malicious intent, strikes at the very heart of our democratic values,” he added in a statement, vowing that authorities would bring the perpetrators to justice.<\/p>\n

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has asked people in the South Asian nation to shun the poll and called a two-day strike nationwide from Saturday.<\/p>\n

The eight people critically injured in the blaze are being treated in hospital, officials said.<\/p>\n

“All eight, including two children, have burnt their respiratory tracts,” said Dr Samanta Lal Sen of a state-run specialist burn hospital in the capital.<\/p>\n

Read also:\u00a0Shrinking democratic space in Bangladesh<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

“We are closely monitoring them,” he told reporters.<\/p>\n

Seven firefighting teams took an hour to subdue the fire in Dhaka’s area of Wari, fire official Shahjahan Sikder said.<\/p>\n

Second boycott in three elections<\/strong><\/p>\n

The poll boycott by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is its second in three elections. The party says Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League is trying to legitimise a sham vote to gain a fourth straight term.<\/p>\n

Hasina, who has refused BNP demands to resign and cede power to a neutral authority to run the election, accuses the opposition of instigating anti-government protests that have rocked Dhaka since late October and killed at least 10 people.<\/p>\n

A senior BNP official, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, said Friday’s express train fire was “undoubtedly an act of sabotage and cruelty”, while blaming the ruling party for it.<\/p>\n

Four people died last month in a train blaze set by protesters during a countrywide strike called by the opposition.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, Dhaka’s usually busy roads were largely deserted, although security forces patrolled in armoured vehicles.<\/p>\n

About 800,000 security officials will guard polling booths on Sunday, while some of the armed forces have fanned out nationwide to help keep the peace.<\/p>\n

Read:\u00a0Bangladesh deploys army to keep peace ahead of Sunday’s election<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Police said unidentified arsonists also set fire to at least five primary schools, including four polling booths.<\/p>\n

They are investigating fires in Gazipur, on the outskirts of Dhaka, suspected to have been set in the middle of the night by those aiming to disrupt Sunday’s election.<\/p>\n

“We have intensified patrolling and remain on high alert,” said Gazipur police chief Kazi Shafiqul Alam.<\/p>\n

Arsonists also attacked polling booths in the northeastern districts of Moulavibazar and Habiganj, police said, with similar incidents reported elsewhere in the past two days.<\/p>\n

Police in the coastal district of Khulna arrested two people on Thursday night accused of trying to set fire to a school.<\/p>\n

The following day, another bid to set fire to a primary school nearby was averted, said Saidur Rahman, police chief of the district.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n