Closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras have been stolen from several polling centres in Rangpur and Noakhali ahead of the elections, raising concerns regarding security and transparency.
In Rangpur, four CCTV cameras were stolen from two polling centres in Taraganj Upazila late Tuesday night, 10 February.
The thefts occurred at Kursha Darjipara Government Primary School and Sayar Dararpar Government Primary School in Sayar Union, with two cameras taken from each site.
The incident was confirmed on Wednesday afternoon by the Assistant Returning Officer and Taraganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Monabbor Hossain.
He stated that officials became aware of the theft on Wednesday morning and took immediate action.
“We have already directed the installation of new cameras to replace the stolen ones,” Monabbor Hossain said.
He added that the administration remains on high alert following Election Commission instructions, and law enforcement agencies are working to identify those involved while police surveillance in the area has been strengthened.
The Rangpur-2 (Taraganj and Badarganj) constituency features five candidates, including Anisul Islam Mondal of Jatiya Party, Mohammad Ali Sarkar of BNP, and ATM Azharul Islam of Jamaat-e-Islami.
The seat has a total of 380,921 voters, consisting of 192,287 men, 188,625 women, and nine third-gender individuals, who are scheduled to vote across 137 centres.
Incident in Noakhali In a separate incident in the Noakhali-3 constituency, a CCTV camera was reported missing from the Mehedipur Government Primary School polling centre in Ward 4 of Chhayani Union, Begumganj Upazila.
The centre’s Presiding Officer Mehedi Hasan reported that the camera, which was fixed to the exterior of the building facing the field, was taken sometime between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday noon.
He notified the upazila administration after discovering the camera was gone during a site visit on Wednesday.
However, Assistant Returning Officer and Begumganj UNO, Kayesur Rahman, disputed the claim of theft. He asserted on Wednesday evening that the camera had been broken by children playing in the field.
While the UNO claimed the camera had been reinstalled, reports indicated that it had not yet been replaced as of Wednesday evening.
