Miscreants set fire to election office in Lakshmipur, burn documents

A youth poured petrol into the ground floor store room of the Lakshmipur District Election Office and set it on fire. CCTV footage showed a masked youth climbing over the wall to enter and exit the office.
The incident took place at around 4 pm on Friday (December 12). CCTV footage showed a masked youth climbing over the wall on the west side of the gate and entering. Within a short while, flames were visible. The youth then climbed over the gate and exited.
Sadar Upazila Election Officer Md. Faruk Hossain said, “A masked youth broke or opened the window glass, poured petrol and set it on fire. Our doorman Hamim was sleeping inside. He got three alarms while setting the fire and fled. In the meantime, the voter list of the second form voters of 2008 and 2009 was also burnt. Apart from this, some equipment including a useless desktop-CPU was also burnt. However, it did not take long to put out the fire.
He said, “After receiving the news, I and District Election Officer Abdur Rashid came to the office and saw the fire. Later, the concerned including the Deputy Commissioner were informed. Senior police officials came. They said that they will strengthen security regularly.”
District Election Officer Md. Abdur Rashid said, “Some documents of the office were burnt in the fire. However, since the matter was caught, there was no major damage. The police will investigate and take legal action.” Additional Superintendent of Police (Sadar Circle) Rezaul Haque said, “The incident is under investigation.” A drive is underway to arrest those involved.” Deputy Commissioner SM Mehedi Hasan said, “Instructions have been given to strengthen security at election offices.”