150 booked for rioting in Hyderabad LG by-polls

HYDERABAD: Local government by-elections were marred by chaos and fighting and polling in UC-119 was postponed once again.

Polling started late at a few polling stations. The ballot boxes were not desealed due to the non-arrival of polling agents in three polling stations of ward-2 of Union Committee 30, Government School Rais Pikka Qila, Polling Station Government Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah Higher Secondary School and Polling Station Office of the Project Director Kuchiabadi. Complaints of the late arrival of polling agents and wrong entry in the voter list were received at polling stations of UC 119, due to which the polling process started 31 minutes late.

However, District Election Commissioner Yusuf Majidano rejected the reports of a delayed start and appreciated the staff. When he visited the polling station of the UC-5 ward number one, the polling agent of the PPP candidate complained about the use of mobile phones by the opponents during the polling. The returning officer warned the polling agent.

Saeeduddin, the chairman candidate of the PPP in UC 119 in Hyderabad’s Latifabad area, allegedly entered the women’s polling station with a group of supporters and forcibly stopped the polling process. They allegedly took away ballot papers, boxes and voter lists from the polling booth and expelled the staff after harassing them, after which the presiding officer stopped the polling process and lodged a complaint with the Election Commission.

The District Election Commissioner visited the polling stations of UC-119 and, after seeing the situation, suspended the election and announced legal action against the attackers. SSP Hyderabad Amjad Shaikh, SP Cantt Alina Rajpar, along with a large squad, reached the polling station and sought details of the motive behind the incident. Later, Hyderabad Commissioner Bilal Ahmed Memon and Deputy Commissioner Fawad Ghaffar Soomro also reached there. The commissioner said that there was no prior report of any dispute or tension and the arrival of the group at the polling station was unexpected and arrangements were being made.

On behalf of the Election Commission, a case was registered against 150 people for vandalism and rioting in the polling station of UC 119 in the complaint of Ismail Leghari in the B section police station. After the suspension of elections in UC-119, candidates and workers of Pakistan Tehreek protested by reaching Latifabad No. 10 and outside the press club.

Meanwhile, a press release issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan quoted the Provincial Election Commissioner as saying that the police had lodged the FIR. The ECP took notice of the incident. The case will be heard in Islamabad on May 11.

ECP Secretary Omar Hamid Khan, who was present at the Central Control Room in Islamabad, talked to officers concerned and the SSP on the security issue and directed the officials to take action. He also directed the officials concerned to submit a detailed report.

The district was gripped by heat today and long hours of loadshedding and unavailability of generators also created problems for the election staff and voters.An officer of the GOR police station was sleeping at the polling station. When the media pointed out that he was allegedly drunk, fellow officials picked him up and took him to hospital in a police van. SSP Amjad Shaikh has suspended the police officer.