Bangladesh News

Khulna Metropolitan Police (KMP) has identified 138 polling centres as vulnerable to violence out of 239 in 31 wards of Khulna City Corporation (KCC), scheduled for elections on August 4.

Sources said the KMP now has a different list of criminals to arrest before the KCC polls as many on the pervious list are running in the election after their nomination papers passed the Election Commission scrutiny.

The 138 vulnerable polling centres are under five police stations.

Forty-one out of 57 polling centres under Sonadanga Police Station have been identified as vulnerable, the highest among the five police stations.

Thirty out of 78 polling centres under Khulna Police Station, 37 out of 67 under Khalishpur Police Station and 30 out of 37 under Daulatpur and Khan Jahan Ali police stations were identified as vulnerable to violence.

A high official of KMP told The Daily Star that there would be a security ring covering the entire metropolitan city from August 2. Several mobile teams comprising BDR, Armed Police Battalion and Ansars personnel will assist police in maintaining law and order in the polling centres. Army and Rab personnel will also remain on patrol on August 4, the KMP official said.

At least 140 out of 241 polling centres of the city were identified as vulnerable in the 2002 KCC elections.