The first significant casualty of Bangladesh’s 13th Parliamentary Election, Mohibuzzaman Kochi (55), former office secretary for BNP's Khulna city unit, died after being in an altercation outside the Alia Madrasah polling station located in Khulna-2 constituency.
The Incident: A Deadly Clash
The incident happened at about 8:10 AM, just after polling started. Eyewitnesses and BNP officials at the spot said tensions erupted when a Jamaat-e-Islami leader, a principal of the Madrasah according to reports, was reportedly seen campaigning and swaying voters inside the prohibited polling space.
Allegation of BNP:
The Khulna Sadar Thana BNP’s former organising secretary and its alleged spokesperson Yusuf Harun Majnu alleged how Kochi intervened to cease the illegal campaigning.
"After Kochi bhai blocked them, the leader from Jamaat pushed him with great force. And suddenly he lost his balance, struck a tree and struck his head so hard. He fell down on the scene,” Majnu told reporters. Kochi was urgently transported to a hospital nearby, though he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Jamaat-e-Islami’s Response
The Jamaat-e-Islami has denied the allegation of a physical attack. Local Jamaat representatives said the situation was tense, but claimed that Kochi “fell ill” under the pressure of the unrest and suffered a cardiac event instead of receiving a fatal blow from a push. Police have taken the body for an autopsy to determine in a precise cause of death, whether it was head injury from falling or an acute medical emergency brought on by the fight.
Violence Escalating Across Bangladesh
Mohibuzzaman Kochi's death is one of several instances of voting unrest on election day:
- Khulna-2: Polling at the Alia Madrasah centre was interrupted by police troops following this death but once this took place under heavy military guard, things resumed.
- Munshiganj: a crude bomb blast was reported at the Makhati Gurucharan High School polling centre and rival supporters chased over it.
- Dhaka-8: Independent candidate Sayeem Amir Faisal (Patwari) was chased out of polling station by angry mob shouting “fake” slogans.
Security Deployment
Even after providing over 9.5 lakh security staff including the Army, the rivalry between the BNP and the 11-Party Alliance (led by Jamaat) has made several “risk-prone” zones into flashpoints. This is the new election since Sheikh Hasina was ousted in 2024 — and both major alliances are competing for supremacy in the wake of the Awami League.
