Officials in Bangladesh say police have opened fire on opposition rallies, killing at least three people and injuring more than 100.

Authorities say the shootings took place Sunday in two towns — Chandpur and Laksmipur — where Bangladesh Nationalist Party activists were demonstrating for the reinstatement of a voting system in which independent caretaker governments oversee national elections. The system was scrapped by the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Bangladeshi police had earlier banned rallies planned for Sunday in the capital city of Dhaka over fears of violent clashes between the BNP and the ruling Awami League party.