LARKANA Tens of thousands of mourners descended on the final resting place of Benazir Bhutto on Saturday to mark her first death anniversary in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh.

People from all over the country were seen streaming in towards the Bhutto family's three-dome white mausoleum since early morning.

By afternoon, the numbers swelled to over a 100,000, many of whom were raising slogans of 'Jiye Bhutto, Sada Jiye' (long live Butto) and 'Zinda Hay, BB, Zinda Hay,' (BB is alive) as they marched into the tomb chaotically.

The mood inside was melancholic as the crowd, including women and children showered rose petals and screamed for apprehending the killers of Benazir. Some groups of mourners were beating their chests, as they stood surrounding the former premier's grave.

Security remained on high alert throughout the day and police cordons were in place at three levels. Visitors had to pass through metal detectors and a full body search was also carried out as they neared the cemetery. Helicopters were also seen hovering over the crowds gathered but despite the strict security checks some main events, including a rally were cancelled.

Several high-profile visitors also arrived to pay their respects to Benazir.

In the last few hours, Information Minister Sherry Rehman, former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association Aitzaz Ahsan, Governor Punjab Salman Taseer, Chief Minister Balochistan Nawab Aslam Raisani, MQM's Senator Babar Ghauri and several federal ministers visited Garhi Khuda Baksh.

A security scare was reported in the evening which led to the arrest of three people. A security volunteer of the Sindh Peoples Students Federation Imran Hussain Jatoi told Dawn that one of those was in possession of an empty suicide jacket; another was carrying sulphur chemical, while the third had a loaded pistol.

According to unconfirmed reports, President Asif Ali Zardari and his children visited Benazir's grave in the wee hours of the morning on Saturday.

Reportedly, the mausoleum staff cleared the area of PPP workers and media personnel under the pre-tense of cleaning the space, at which point the family visited Benazir's grave in private in the early morning quiet. However, PPP and security officials when contacted expressed no knowledge of the visit.

No immediate family members of the slain PPP leader were seen visiting the place.

According to doctors present at the medical camp, 50 people suffered injuries and 1,000 fainted during the course of the day.

Meanwhile, at Al-Murtaza House in Larkana, the PPP (Shaheed Bhutto) held a simple ceremony on Saturday. Sindh National Front chief Mumtaz Ali Bhutto, his son Amir Bakhsh Bhutto and workers of his party participated in recitations of the holy Quran.

Talking to journalists after a collective prayer, the PPP (SB) chairperson Ghinwa Bhutto said that it was strange that the PPP had yet not even registered an FIR into the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

She criticized the PPP leadership for not conducting Benazir's post mortem. She said the country's investigating agencies were responsible for carrying out the probe into the killing and our own courts should convict the killers.

Ghinwa Bhutto plans to visit Garhi Khuda Bakhsh Bhutto on Sunday.