Shawdesh Desk:

A youth was stabbed by attackers in front of Parila High School polling station in Paba upazila in Rajshahi at about 11:00am on Wednesday.

Injured Abdul Momin, 30, was admitted to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital. He is a follower of Paba upazila Juba League president Emdadul Haque, who is vying in the election for the chairman post.

Following the incident, Emdadul Haque took position in front of the Parila High School polling station with the blood stained clothes of the injured Momin.

Emdadul Haque said that a group of 15 to 20 followers of his rival candidate Rajshahi district AL former office secretary Faruk Hossain Dablu attacked Momin when the latter got down from the rickshaw in order to cast his vote at the Parila High School polling station.

He alleged that the followers of Dablu were not allowing the common voters to enter the polling station by threatening them with dire consequences.

However, Faruk Hossain Dablu was not available for his comment as his mobile phone was found switched off.

Golam Rabbani, the presiding officer of Parila High School polling station, said that he did not know anything about what happened outside the polling station. ‘Nothing happened inside the center. 922 out of 4,257 voters cast their votes till 12pm,’ he said.

According to the returning officer’s office, around 17 per cent votes were cast in the Paba upazila parishad election till 2:00pm.

Meanwhile, a former leader of Bangladesh Chhatra League, student wing of the ruling Awami League, on Wednesday took a selfie with the sealed ballot paper inside the secret booth of a polling station and shared it on his Facebook wall displaying his vote.

Md Omar Faruk Fardeen, former acting general secretary of BCL Rajshahi district unit, however, removed the photo from his Facebook wall hours after huge criticism.

Fardeen, a resident of village Maria under Parila union of Paba upazila in Rajshahi, cast his vote at Koira Government Primary School polling station on Wednesday morning.

According to the electoral code of conduct, voters are not allowed to enter the polling station with a mobile phone.

However, Fardeen took a selfie with the ballot paper inside the secret booth and posted on his Facebook account, flaunting the ballot paper with a seal on the ‘pineapple’, the electoral symbol of Rajshahi district AL former office secretary Faruk Hossain Dablu, who is contesting for the Paba upazila parishad chairman post.

However, Fardeen could not be reached for his comment despite repeated attempts over phone.

Returning officer and additional deputy commissioner (revenue) Sarkar Asim Kumar said that law enforcers were looking for Fardeen as the latter would be brought under law.

Voting in 87 upazilas for the third phase of the sixth Upazila Parishad Election began at 8:00am and will continue till 4:00pm without any break.