A day after it emerged that six officers of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) had been arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on charges of abuse of authority and bribery, their lawyer on Tuesday filed an application before a judicial magistrate in Lahore, seeking their production before the court.
The FIA arrested the six officials, who had reportedly been missing for several weeks, on charges of abuse of authority and bribery. The officers – additional director Chaudhry Sarfraz, in-charge Zawar Ahmad, sub-inspector Ali Raza, assistant director Shoaib Riaz, Yasir Ramzan and Mujtaba Zafar – are expected to appear before a district court.
The application, a copy of which is available with dawn.comfiled by lawyer Mian Ali Ashfaq stated that the officials had been formally arrested by the FIA Anti-Corruption Circle in Lahore.
“Since their arrest, neither family nor lawyers have been able to meet the suspects; to the point that FIA officials have also refused to issue [a] copy of [the] first information report (FIR) in which the arrest of the above mentioned suspects took place, which is a flagrant violation of all the established rules and principles of fair investigation and trial guaranteed by Article 10A of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973 and also violation of the Police Rules, 1934 and the Police Order, 2002; as well as different standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by the department,” the application reads.
He highlighted that the investigating officer or the competent investigation agency was obliged to present the detainees before the competent court within the first 24 hours of their arrest.
“However, in the design and manner in which the suspects are arrested, detained and not allowed to meet their families or legal advisors, it is seriously feared that the suspects may not be produced before this honorable court, which amounts to illegal confinement for a longer period and such action by [the] investigating officer is a flagrant violation of Section 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 and Articles 10 and 10A of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, as well as the Police Rules, 1934 and the Police Order, 2002.
“That the illegal actions highlighted above, by the police, not only violate Articles 4, 9, 10, 10A, 13 and 14 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973 with respect to the right of people to be treated in accordance with law, etc., security/liberty of the person and safeguards. [against] arrest and detention, right to a fair trial, protection against self-incrimination and the inviolability of human dignity, etc., but also very inhumane as they go against basic human rights,” the petition states.
He added that the courts were the “guardians[s] “The freedom of citizens and the abuse of power to bind innocent people in order to humiliate them must also be kept under scrutiny and such illegal actions must be stopped.” The petition further mentioned that the right to liberty was one of the “most precious rights” that had been protected by the Constitution and the courts.
In the application, the lawyer sought directions from the court to the deputy director of FIA Anti-Corruption Circle in Lahore and the director of FIA in Lahore to produce the NCCIA officials before it at the earliest in the “supreme interest of justice, equity and fair play”.
Controversies and transfer
Among the six arrested NCCIA officials, Additional Director Chaudhry Sarfraz was allegedly removed over different controversies last month and asked to report to the NCCIA headquarters in Islamabad. He said he was transferred to headquarters and had applied for a six-month leave.
The three controversies revolved around bringing to task several YouTubers/social media influencers, including Saadur Rehman, popularly known as Ducky Bhai and Rajab Butt, for their alleged involvement in unregulated online gambling and trading apps.
The other was the registration of a case against some lawyers who allegedly tried to get the NCCIA to release a suspect. The third controversy related to a fight between a group of Lahore journalists and a serving deputy inspector general of police and some other police officials, as the former prompted the NCCIA to take action against the latter. According to an official, Chaudhry was transferred in light of different complaints against him.
When asked for comment previously, an NCCIA spokesperson had declined to comment on the missing officers, calling it a “serious matter.”
However, sources said Sunrise that the agents’ disappearance was related to their investigations into social media influencers and their financial crimes.
Separately, on Friday, the Islamabad High Court granted the police one more week to locate NCCIA Deputy Director Muhammad Usman, who has been missing for several days. The development occurred during the hearing of a petition filed by Rozina Usman for the recovery of her husband. She alleged that four armed individuals kidnapped her husband on October 14.
The court was also informed that the petitioner herself had disappeared after initiating the case. This development had led the court to request an updated police report on both disappearances.
