HYDERABAD, Dec 10: The Pakistan People’s Party leaders and candidates for national and provincial assembly seats from Dadu demanded on Monday transfer of Dadu DPO Tipu Sultan and warned the workers would take to streets if the government did not take action against the police official.

Former federal minister Zafar Ali Leghari whose son Dr Imran Leghari is running for PS-76, Rafiq Jamali, candidate for NA-232, Syed Murad Ali Shah, candidate for PS-73 and Dr Talat Mahessar, candidate for NA-233, said at a news conference at the Hyderabad press club that the DPO had been involved in large-scale rigging in 2002 general elections and local bodies elections in 2005.

He was also caught red-handed by the personnel of rangers who kept him in detention for six hours, they added. He had again been posted as DPO with the apparent intention of rigging the Jan 8 elections in favour of former federal minister Liaquat Ali Jatoi and his brothers, they said.

Tipu Sultan had been working like a steward for Liaquat Jatoi and had been harassing and intimidating PPP supporters, they said.

Mr Leghari said that Liaquat Jatoi had used his influence to get the DRO, RO and AROs of his choice appointed to rig the elections in 2002 and 2005 and the district had the same district administration.

He said that the entire government machinery including the district nazim who was son of Liaquat Jatoi were working for Liaquat and his brothers. Liaquat was getting more protocol now than he was getting as federal minister. The DPO had placed dozens of police mobiles at his disposal, he said.

He warned that the party this time would react strongly if Liaquat Jatoi and his cronies tried to steal away elections.

He wondered why such a disrupted officer had again been posted as DPO who had been arrested by the rangers, whose increment had been stopped for a year by IGP Sindh on charges of misconduct and against whom the Election Commission had called for immediate action.

Syed Murad Ali Shah demanded that the chief election commissioner should immediately take notice of malpractices by Liaquat Jatoi and DPO and warned that the party supporters would no longer tolerate Tipu Sultan in Dadu.

He distributed among journalists the copies of letters issued by IGP Sindh and election commission against the DPO. The IGP says in the summary of allegations against Tipu Sultan in Kainat Soomro case that “by the reasons narrated above, you are guilty of misconduct which makes you liable for departmental action under the Removal from Service Order 2000 for award of any of the major punishments as specified in the said rules”.

Another letter from the IGP mentions award of punishment of stoppage of increment for a year to Tipu Sultan for being absent from duty.

The Election Commission’s letter addressed to IGP Sindh about the posting of DPO, requested for necessary action against the official.