KARACHI, May 13: A judicial magistrate remanded on Monday nine suspects, including three officers of polling staff, in judicial custody in an election rigging case.

The police said that the suspects were caught red-handed at polling station No 104 in NA-251 constituency in Ferozabad for being involved in activities meant to rig the election in favour of a political party.The investigating officer produced presiding officer Arif Hussain and assistant presiding officers Farhan Ali and Mohammad Adil Khan and private suspects Dr Aziz-ul-Haq, Umair Khan, Jameel, Khalid, Sajid Ali and Azeem Ahmed, said to be political workers, in court for remand.

The lawyers for the election staff argued that their clients were innocent and the police had unlawfully booked and arrested them as they had nothing to do with the alleged offence.

However, the IO contended that the polling staff should have called the deployed personnel of police, Rangers and army inside the polling station in any such case, but instead of calling them they were helping the private suspects.

A judicial magistrate sent the suspects to jail on judicial remand till May 26 and directed the IO to complete the investigation and submit a report as required under Section 173 of the criminal procedure code.

A case was registered under Section 171-F (punishment for undue influence or personation at an election), 419 (punishment for cheating by personation), 109 (abetment) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code on a complaint of Raja Arif Sultan, an independent candidate from NA-251, at the Ferozabad police station. The complainant alleged in his statement under Section 154 of the CrPC that workers of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement with the help of the polling staff were involved in the rigging.

Meanwhile, another judicial magistrate sent seven suspects to prison in rioting and illicit weapons cases.

The Darakhshan police arrested them, allegedly seized weapons from them and booked them under Sections 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions) and 34 (common intention) of the PPC and Section 23-A of the Arms Ordinance.