KARACHI, Aug 19: The two presiding officers who were arrested on Thursday on the charge of rigging in Thursday’s polling were granted bail separately by the Judicial Magistrate South, Naheed Jabbar, on Friday. Ahmed Suleman and Mohammad Asif were granted bail in the sum of Rs20,000 each.

Ahmed Suleman, a schoolteacher, was posted at booth No.220, Government Women’s College, Pirabad, in Site Town. He was arrested after a polling agent of the Al-Khidmat Group had reportedly lodged a complaint with the returning officer, Munawwar Sultana, an additional district and sessions judge, accusing the presiding officer of having indulged in bogus voting.

According to police, four ballot boxes containing 2,400 bogus votes were seized from the possession of Ahmed Suleman, who was booked in FIR No.414/2005 under Sections 171-F and 511 PPC.

Presiding officer Mohammad Asif, a deputy director in the finance department of the City District Government Karachi, was posted at CMS School on Nishtar Road. He was also reportedly arrested on the complaint of a polling agent for his alleged involvement in bogus voting. Police claimed to have seized 500 bogus votes from his possession.

Besides, the magistrate granted bail to six activists of a party who were booked and arrested for their alleged involvement in bogus voting.

Mohammed Ali, Naeemuddin, Babar, Ikram Hussain, Tufail and Johnson, reportedly belonging to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, were granted bail in a sum of Rs25,000 each. They were arrested by the Eidgah police during the polling.

Another two activists, Mohammed Umer and Mohammed Iqbal, who were arrested for entering a polling station with pistols in Eidgah police limits, were given in judicial custody.