Few unknown armed men resorted to aerial firing late Thursday night outside the house of Juman Mirbahr, an independent candidate for local body elections from Ward No.4 of Jati town of district Sujawal.
Mirbahr is contesting the election against Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidate Juman Malkani.
Tensions sparked in the area as soon as people heard the noise of gunshots. They preferred remaining indoors rather than rushing to the site as the firing continued for around an hour.
Soon after the incident, several people from the Mirbahar community and supporters of Juman Mirbahr started reaching his residence and staged a protest against the candidate of the ruling party and accused him of plotting the whole episode.
Talking to local journalists, Juman Mirbahar said that his opponents had been victimising him right from the inception to withdraw in their favour but he would never do so because the common folk had reposed their trust in him.
He further said that his rivals wanted an empty ground for themselves, but the people were now aware of their rights and would never support such fanatics. He alleged that the area police were hand in glove with the influential politicians, saying that on their behest, the DSP, together with a strong contingent of police, had stormed their houses even after the firing incident.
PPP’s Juman Malkani refuted the allegations levelled against him and said that his opponent after seeing no other way hatched the conspiracy to trap him and his tribesmen, who had been enjoying a glowing political legacy in the area for the past four decades. He added that the day of the election would decide who was on the right path.
Meanwhile, Jati SHO claimed that the situation was under control; however, credible sources revealed that the town was under the shadow of fear the entire day as people were confined to their houses. No FIR of the incident was registered till the filing of this report.
