False voting, polling booth capture, snatching of ballot papers and use of undue influence overshadowed polls in Bogra, Nandail, Habiganj, Kurigram and Jessore municipalities, witnesses said.

They said Abu Taher, 40, of Jhaogaon and Sujan, 25, of Achargaon villages suffered fatal injures during trouble at Achargaon High School centre at about 3:00pm.

UNB adds: The trouble broke out when a woman voter was barred from casting vote, sparking a quarrel between a group of supporters of a chairman candidate and the police.

As an angry mob tried to attack police, the law-enforcers opened fire, resulting in the deaths.

Our Bogra Correspondent adds: Voters in Bogra alleged use of illegal influence against local BNP lawmaker Helaluzzaman Talukder Lalu, who, they said, visited polling centres with a wireless set and ran 'illegal operations' from there.

He influenced the police administration to free the people arrested for casting false votes, they alleged.

Witnesses also alleged false voting in 34 centres in Bogra municipality for BNP-backed chairman candidate AKM Mahbubur Rahman, president of the district BNP.

Local deputy commissioner and superintendent of police admitted the false voting to journalists.

Polling was postponed for one hour at Malatinagar government primary school amid widespread false voting.

Three candidates, including one backed by the main opposition Awami League, demanded postponement of polling at the centre, but the polling officials turned down the appeal.

Witnesses said police picked up Abdul Kader allegedly for casting false vote, but released him at the intervention of the lawmaker.

The law-enforcers also picked up 8 people including 7 Islami Chhatra Shibir activists from the centre.

Fair Election Monitoring Alliance (Fema) in a report said gunmen burst into Chachara Raipur Government High School in Jessore, snatched ballots from polling officials and stuffed them into boxes in favour of their candidate.

A group of unruly youths raided two polling centres at Ramcharan Government Primary School and PTI premises in Habiganj and snatched ballot papers.

UNB adds: Over a dozen people were injured in Rajbari and Sirajganj.

In Rajbari, supporters of defeated BNP chairman candidate attacked their rivals after announcement of unofficial results in Dhunji-Silimpur centres on Saturday night.

Witnesses said four shops and a motorcycle were damaged in the clash.

Abdul Majid Makhan, 40, and Golam Sanju, 28, were admitted to Sadar hospital.

Mohammad Ali Chowdhury, AL-backed chairman-elect, condemned the attack and demanded immediate punishment to the attackers.

In Sirajganj, supporters of the BNP- and AL-backed chairmen candidates clashed at Alampur bazar in the closing hours of campaign for Kazipur municipality on Saturday night, leaving at least 13 people injured.

Seven of the injured were admitted to Sirajganj General Hospital, of whom the condition of three was critical.

Police arrested two young men, Sana and Rafiqul in the wake of the clash.