Arson attacks reported in Bangladesh day before election

There are reports of a spate of arson attacks in Bangladesh, a day before the country goes to the polls.

A Buddhist temple has been torched, and goods trucks attacked on a national highway, after a commuter train was allegedly set on fire on Friday.

The fire service says there has been at least fourteen arson incidents in a matter of hours, local media report.

Most opposition parties are boycotting the election, in which PM Sheikh Hasina is set to win a fourth straight term.

Police says a prominent opposition politician, Nabiullah Nabi of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and six other party activists have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in Friday's blaze on a commuter train in central Dhaka, in which at least four passengers were killed.

Samanta Lal Sen, a senior official at the Dhaka hospital treating victims of the blaze, says eight people have also been critically injured.

Local media say a Buddhist temple in Ramu, Cox's Bazar, was attacked in the early hours of Saturday.

The main opposition party, the BNP, has asked citizens to boycott the poll and called a two-day strike across the country.

The ruling Awami League has accused the BNP of trying to disrupt the election by unleashing a "reign of terror on innocent people."