15 injured, 13 arrested for protesting against vote fraud suspects

Protesters accuses PML-N supporters of casting votes using fake CNICs.

GUJRANWALA:

As many as 15 people were injured on Sunday and People’s Colony police attacked a protesting mob with sticks and tear-gas to disperse them. Thirteen protesters were arrested.

More than 100 supporters of an independent candidate were protesting against the police for not taking action on their fraudulent voting complaint. They accused the police of ignoring blatant rigging

The protesters said that some supporters of Rizwan Aslam Butt, a candidate in PP-91, caught some voters trying to cast votes using fake identity cards at a polling station set up at the Government Girls Elementary School in Bahar Colony. They alleged that after polling had stopped, some men claiming to be supporters of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz candidate Imran Khalid Butt, went in to cast their votes.



They said some of Rizwan’s supporters followed the men inside the polling station and found out that the men were using fake ID cards. They said they informed Rizwan, who arrived at the scene. They said when they confronted the policemen who were present there, the policemen started beating Rizwan’s men. They said the police pushed them out of the polling station.

On Sunday, the protesters gathered at Ghep Chowk and burned tyres.

A police team, headed by the SP (City) Malik Liaqat Ali, tried to break up the rally with a baton charge. They later also used tear-gas at them and fired shots in the air. At least 15 people were injured. Having failed to stop the protesters, police started arresting them.

Station House Officer Sarfaraz Ranjha said that 13 people were arrested. He said the police were looking for Rizwan to “teach him a lesson”.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 13^th, 2013.