BAHAWALPUR, Aug 13: Electioneering for the office of the Naib Nazim, Bahawalpur tehsil, began with the filing of nomination papers by the aspirants here on Wednesday.

The seat of the Naib Nazim had been lying vacant since October, 2002, when Syed Mueed Hussain Bokhari had tendered his resignation to contest the provincial assembly election from a local seat.

Those who filed their nomination papers on Wednesday included Tariq Majid (PML-QA), Sahibzada Munawar Hayat Abbasi and Malik Aurangzeb (PML-N) and Liaquat Lodhi and Zahid Channar (Bahawalpur Ittehad), the ruling group in the district government.

Liaquat Lodhi will be the likely choice of the Bahawalpur Ittehad for the Naib Nazim slot. Dawn learnt that the ruling group had decided to have another Seraiki speaking candidate for the office.

CASE: Yazman police on Wednesday registered a case against two persons of Chak 42/DB for allegedly affixing a fake signature of a woman MPA for getting the recommendation of allotment of land in a village here.

The case was registered on the report of MPA Begum Zeenat Khan, who informed the land department deputy secretary that she did not sign any document for the allotment of land. The accused, Aslam and Haq Nawaz, could be arrested so far.

Meanwhile, Yazman police claimed to have arrested all the six accused allegedly involved in the gang-rape and taking nude shots of a married woman of a nearby village.

Police said Mohsin, Nazakat Ali, Rafaqat Ali, Muhammad Amin, Abdul Hamid, Naheed, Anwar alias Sardar Muhammad had allegedly kidnapped ‘S’ and took her to the house of Nazakat. There she was gang-raped by Mohsin, Nazakat and Rafaqat while others took her nude shots.

DROWNS: A student of Chak 56/DB-A drowned in a canal here on Wednesday.

The body of Asif (12) could not be recovered from the canal till the filing of this story.