RAWALPINDI, Dec 27: Thousands of angry people burst out into the streets of Rawalpindi, and towns around it, after mysterious hands killed Benazir Bhutto and 21 supporters of her in the city on Thursday.

Her target killing in Liaquat Bagh, a cursed place to some, sent shockwaves around the world. But the people of Rawalpindi appeared to be particularly touched by the tragedy as there her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was hanged in 1979 which was widely considered to be a “judicial murder”.

Shock gave way first to disbelief and then to hope that Benazir would survive the bomb blast which experts believe had five kilograms of explosive. But all hopes and restraints broke down when PPP sources sent the word out from Rawalpindi General Hospital (RGH) that she was dead.

PPP workers and supporters who were in a daze till then became angry and hit the streets wailing.

They gave vent to their anger by burning tyres and attacking some buildings, particularly on the Murree Road where RGH is located.

Similar scenes were reported from Westridge, Choor Chowk, Ratta Amral and Misrial Road areas.

RGH sources told Dawn that Benazir was dead when she was brought to the hospital.

She had died of bullets in her temple and neck, not from the bomb explosion, said the sources who did not want to be identified.

A suicide bomber waiting for her outside the Liaquat Bagh gate first shot at her and then blew himself up as she emerged from the sunroof of her car after leaving the election rally to answer to her cheering supporters, according to police sources.

People continued to hang out of RGH for hours after her tragic death was announced, waiting for her cortege to come out. But authorities opened a disused gate at the back of the hospital opening on the Rawal Road to take her coffin out.

In the meantime the crowd of angry people on the Murree Road grew thicker and angrier.

They set on fire the Standard Chartered Bank and the United Bakery and clashed with police force which was being reinforced all the time. DSP Ishtiaq Shah was among those injured in the clashes.

At the Marrir end of the Murree Road, protesters piled up old furniture and other rubbish on the railway line and burnt it.

Markets started closing down in Rawalpindi and Islamabad on hearing the news of bomb attack in Liaquat Bagh. But real panic gripped the populace of Rawalpindi when it was announced that Benazir was dead and angry crowds were out in the streets.

Public transport vanished and even mohalla shops closed. The only people seen in the streets were rushing home on foot or cars.

In Islamabad, angry protests were witnessed in Aabpara, Sitara Market and some sections of Kashmir Highway and Islamabad Highway.

All business activity came to a halt. Banks have been closed for three days.

In Rawalpindi city and cantonment, not just major shopping centres but small cigarette vendors also closed their business to pay tribute to Benazir Bhutto.

Bakeries, chemists located on The Mall, Bank Road, Haider Road, Kashmir Road, Adamjee Road, Babu Mohallah, Lalkurti, Westridge and scores of small localities, also closed down against the usual tradition to keep even during civil turbulence.

Many in the streets were seen in tears. Women watching the sad story of the murder of Benazir and others on television at home cried openly.

While Rawalpindi and Islamabad wore deserted and mournful looks, the authorities beefed up security at public buildings and places.