Dhaka, Nov. 6 -- Chattogram Mayor Shahadat Hossain has warned that the city is gradually becoming "unsafe" as the national elections approach, following the shooting of BNP candidate Ershad Ullah.

He spoke after visiting the injured candidate at Evercare Hospital in the city's Quaish area around midnight on Wednesday.

Shahadat said, "The city was safe for a long time. Over the past month, we have seen it gradually turning unsafe."

He suggested that a group might have carried out the attack to delay the election process.

The visit came hours after Sarwar Babla, a police-listed "top criminal", was shot dead during Ershad's campaign at Chalitatali under Bayezid Bostami Police Station on Wednesday evening.

Ershad and three others were wo...