ISLAMABAD: The capital police have booked the newly elected chairman of Union Council 1 on charges of assaulting government officials and trespassing on a polling station.

Police sources said here on Wednesday that the chairman and his supporters were also beaten up by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supporters while they were returning from the polling station. One of his (the UC-1 chairman) colleagues received head injury and was taken to the hospital, the police said.

Shiraz Kiani was elected from UC-1 Saidpur on the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf ticket. Cases against him and his 25 supporters were registered under PPCs 353, 147, 149, 186, 188, 427 and 452.

According to the police, the UC-1 chairman came to the polling station along with his supporters at 12;30am and tried to enter the polling station. When the police tried to stop them they allegedly broke the gate of Islamabad Model School for boys at Talhar and entered the polling station, they said, adding that at that time all the gates were closed as counting of votes was in progress.

Later, the police tried to stop them inside the polling station from moving any further where a scuffle broke out between the attackers and the police officials, the police said, adding later they succeeded in reaching the room where votes were being counted and started abusing the polling staff and then escaped.

A police officer said Mr Kiani came to inquire about the delay in counting and the results. “Mr Kiani suspected that the delay was a deliberate aimed at changing the election result,” the police officer said.

He said the policemen asked him that only he could go inside, but his supporters also wanted to accompany him.

When his supporters were not allowed to enter the premises, they got angry and started a physical fight with the polling staff and policemen, he said.

However, Mr Kiani and his supporters left the polling station.

While returning, the PML-N supporters came and tried to intercept them at a nullah in the area and as a result a brawl took place between them.

Mr Kiani, through his lawyer, lodged a complaint against the attackers for registration of a case, the police officer said, adding but the complaint was registered in a daily diary and the lawyer was asked that Mr Kiani should first surrender himself then the case against his rivals would be registered. It is a legal binding, he told his lawyer.

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2015