So far, three homes belonging to members of the religious minority community were torched in Thakurgaon Sadar before the national election due on Sunday, reported bdnews24.

Ananda Chandra Barman’s home at Jhapartali village of Akhanagar Union caught fire around 10 pm Thursday, Thakurgaon Fire Service Station Master Mofidar Rahman Khan told the Bangladesh-based news portal.

“A fire unit brought the blaze under control. But by then two of the huts were gutted,” he said.

“The loss of property would amount to Tk 200,000. A cigarette butt might have caused it," he said.

One house owner said the huts were gutted in five to seven minutes.

He said it was done to keep the Hindus away from voting on Dec 30.

“I saw my house on fire around 10pm and I smelled petrol. The huts burned down in five to seven minutes,” the house’s owner Barman told bdnews24.com.  
“Someone used petrol to set my house on fire to scare our Hindu community and keep us away from voting in the upcoming election,” added Barman.

Police have started investigating into the incident.

Bangladesh will vote in the General elections on Sunday.