ISLAMABAD, May 12: The Secretariat police booked 20 people, along with the staff of a school in a polling station of NA-48, for attacking activists of the Pakistan People’s Party and its polling agent.

According to the police, the case was registered in response to a complaint lodged by PPP’s Jahanzeb Kiani against the school staff which was performing duty at the entrance of the polling station set up in a school at Rawal Dam Colony.

The staff, along with 20 other people, was charged under PPC 337-H (punishment for hurt by rash or negligent act), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon) and 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object).

The police said the complainant and the accused were native of the same village, Mohra Faqir, and the incident took place during the hour extended for polling.

Despite the extension, Mr. Kiani found that the polling station was closed for voters and the school staff deployed at the entrance prevented entry.

Despite his objections, the gate was not opened, resulting in the exchange of harsh words.

Later, Mr Kiani returned to his party’s camp, where the school staff, along with 20 others, attacked the camp with weapons and batons, injuring five people (including Mr Kiani) in the process.

The attackers also fired multiple shots in the air and later escaped from the scene.

Mr. Kiani told Dawn that earlier, his uncle who had been appointed as PPP’s polling agent, was also harassed by the staff. In reply to a question, he showed ignorance of his attackers’ political affiliations.

In another incident, a villager was attacked near a polling station when he went to cast his vote at Village Bukar in Kural.

Raja Mohammad Banaras lodged a complaint with the Kural police stating that he was attacked by a group of armed personnel, who later shot and injured his friend Abdul Aziz.

The attackers also snatched a pistol and a carbine, along with cash worth Rs100,000 and escaped from the scene.

In response, the police registered a case against the attackers on charges of PPC-324 (murder attempt), 380 (theft), 148 and 149.

However, the Kural police believe the incident had little to do with the elections, and the complainant had old enmity with the attackers over the murder of a man in 1995.