SUKKUR, May 13: Jacobabad city was completely shut on Monday as thousands of townspeople and villagers who poured from adjoining areas held a demonstration and a sit-in outside the press club in protest against alleged rigging and manipulation of results in elections.

All main bazaars and trade centres and even shops in rural areas were completely shut and the roads and streets wore a deserted look.

The protesters continued the sit-in for five hours while hundreds of their colleagues patrolled the city’s streets on motorcycles, raising slogans and firing in the air.

The protesters were intercepted by armed men of a community in Jan Mohammad Talani Colony when they tried to drive through the area. An exchange of fire took place between the protesters and the armed men in which three PML-N activists were injured who were taken to the Jacobabad civil hospital.

The incident infuriated the protesters and they vented their anger on a shop by burning down its shed. When the PML-N workers were going to the hospital to enquire after their injured colleagues, workers of PPP and the Sindh Peoples Student Federation (SPSF) sitting outside the party’s district secretariat on the hospital road shouted slogans against them, which added fuel to the fire.

Police tried to calm both the groups but they did not listen and opened fire at each other, forcing policemen to run for their lives. The groups exchanged fire for at least two hours without fear of police and intervention by any law enforcement agency, turning the area into a virtual battlefield.

The area people ran away to save their lives as the armed men kept firing against each other.

Thirteen more PML-N workers were injured who were admitted to the civil hospital.

As the workers of PPP and SPSF finally retreated, the enraged PML-N activists set on fire 13 motorcycles parked outside the PPP office and ransacked the office. They briefly occupied the destroyed office and later set it ablaze.

The PML-N workers also tore down and burnt banners of PPP hanging from electric poles and on the walls, pelted the main gate of PTCL office with stones, shattering windowpanes and damaging employees’ motorcycles parked outside.

The PML-N workers later staged a sit-in in front of the main gate of deputy commissioner’s office and kept shouting slogans. Police fired warning shots in the air and lobbed teargas shells at the crowd to break up the protest but to no avail.

Later, SSP Jawed Jiskani reached the DC chowk and tried to control the situation but failed and sought help of army and Rangers who arrived in the city shortly afterwards and sealed all roads and streets.

They tried to disperse the protesters who were sitting outside the press club but they refused to go away.

Meanwhile, former chairman of Senate Mohammedmian Soomro and other PML-N leaders said at a hurriedly called press conference at the press club that DRO and RO of Jacobabad were not impartial. They did not take action even after they provided them evidence of irregularities and rigging, said Mr Soomro.

He said the initial result announced by the DRO was changed after four hours which cemented their suspicions about rigging. People had voluntarily taken to the streets and he or any other party leader had not asked them to hold protests, he said.

PML-N candidates for PS-13 (Garhi Khero) Sardar Manzoor Panhwar said the PML-N candidates were kept out of race under a conspiracy. Unarmed workers were targeted, he said, adding if culprits were not arrested the party would continue to protest.

In the meantime, result of PS-14 was announced in which PML-N candidate Aslam Abro was declared victor. He had received 15,743 votes while his rival PPP’s Sardar Muqeem Khan Khoso received 15,643 votes. The news had a calming effect on enraged PML-N workers who had been protesting for several hours.