The Latest: Polls close in Bangladesh general election

Bangladeshi police personnel seal the voting material at a distribution center before being transported to polling stations on the eve of the general elections in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, Dec. 29, 2018. As Bangladeshis get set for Sunday's parliamentary elections, there are fears that violence and intimidation could keep many away from the polls, including two opposition candidates who said police had barricaded them inside their homes. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

DHAKA, Bangladesh – The Latest on parliamentary elections in Bangladesh (all times local):

4:10 p.m.

Polling stations have closed in Bangladesh's general election.

Officials say voting ended at 4 p.m. Sunday in 299 out of the 300 parliamentary seats. They say they'll continue to allow those who were waiting in line to cast their ballots.

The election in one constituency was postponed after a candidate died of natural causes.

The election is seen as a referendum on what critics call Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's increasingly authoritarian tendencies.

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3:05 p.m.

News reports in Bangladesh say there have been deadly clashes related to the country's general election.

Local media including the country's leading Bengali-language daily, Prothom Alo, say up to 10 people were killed in clashes between rival partisans and police in six districts across the country as voting took place Sunday. Police officials did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Meanwhile, The Associated Press received more than 50 calls from people across the country who identified themselves as opposition supporters complaining of intimidation and threats, and being forced to vote in front of ruling party men inside polling booths. The AP could not independently verify the complaints.

The election is seen as a referendum on what critics call Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's increasingly authoritarian tendencies.

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8:20 a.m.

Voting has started in Bangladesh's contentious parliamentary elections.

The polls Sunday in the South Asian nation are seen as a referendum on what critics call 71-year-old Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's increasingly authoritarian tendencies.

Hasina's main rival is former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who's in prison for corruption.

In Zia's absence, the opposition is led by Kamal Hossain, an 82-year-old Oxford-educated lawyer and former member of Hasina's Awami League party.

The election campaign has been marred by allegations from the opposition of arrests and jailing of thousands of Hasina opponents.

While rights groups have sounded the alarms about the erosion of Bangladesh's democracy, Hasina has promoted a different narrative, highlighting an ambitious economic agenda that has propelled Bangladesh past larger neighbors Pakistan and India by some development measures.

Fox News

Ohio sheriff accused of taking money during drug arrests to fund gambling problem, complaint says

An Ohio sheriff is accused in an anonymous complaint of confiscating cash from drug arrests and using it to fund his gambling addiction.

The complaint, filed on Nov. 9, accused Pike County Sheriff Charles S. Reader of taking the money from drug arrests from a safe that is kept in the sheriff’s office.

“He is a compulsive gambler and never has any money,” the complaint said, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

OHIO POLICE OFFICER PENS EMOTIONAL PLEA TO SPEEDERS AFTER TICKETING TEEN FOR DRIVING 100 MPH

Reader borrowed thousands of dollars from two deputies and blew it on gambling, the complaint also alleged. It also stated his daughter drove cars impounded by the sheriff’s office.

Fox News.

Florida deputy kills family, calls officers over radio to say he ‘caused harm’ before killing self, cops say

A Florida deputy killed three family members, then confessed to the crime over a chilling radio call to other officers before killing himself near a school, despite colleagues’ pleas on Wednesday, police said.

Authorities were called to the scene near Plant City High School after the Hillsborough County sheriff’s deputy, who has not been identified, provided details of murders that occurred in two homes, FOX13 reported.

"Today, I stand in front of you with an extremely heavy heart," Sheriff Chad Chronister said at a news conference. "Saddened and disheartened about the events that occurred early this morning."

The deputy got on the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office’s main radio channel just after 6:30 a.m. Wednesday and told officers he “caused harm to his family,” Chronister said. The deputy said he killed two family members at one home and another at a second residence and provided details on where to locate their bodies.

The deputy said during the radio transmission that he was going to kill himself at the high school, prompting officers to rush to his location in an attempt to stop him.

Despite their efforts, he took his own life in front of his colleagues, according to police.

"Unfortunately, the deputy took his own life on (the) scene in front of the three deputies," Chronister said.

Police later found a woman and a child dead inside a home. Another woman was located at the second residence the deputy described. Their identities, and their relationship with the deputy, have not been released pending family notification.

It’s unclear why the deputy carried out the slayings. Chronister said the deputy mentioned health and financial issues during his cryptic radio transmission.

"We're not exactly certain what that means," Chronister added. "That will be part of the investigation."

The deputy began working for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department in 1991 before retiring two years ago. He was rehired this past summer to be part of the on-campus security at an elementary school.

Chronister said the deputy previously received “glowing” recommendations and there was “no indication whatsoever” that he would commit a crime.

FOX NEWS.