Saadur Rehman, also known as Ducky Bhai on YouTube, has put out a video that is almost an hour long. In it, he says that the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) abused him physically and verbally while he was in their custody.
Background: Being arrested and held
In August, Saadur Rehman was arrested at Lahore Airport for allegedly promoting online gaming and betting apps. On November 25, the Lahore High Court granted him bail, although he stayed in official prison and was not released right away. In September, Sarfraz Chaudhry, the Additional Director of NCCIA Lahore, was fired because of several scandals, one of which concerned the alleged torture of Saadur Rehman.
Saadur Rehman’s Claims in His Video
In his most recent video, Saadur Rehman went into great detail on what happened after he was arrested and then sent to jail. He said that as soon as he saw Additional Director Chaudhry, he was threatened verbally and physically.
“He got up from his chair and yelled at me. He kept verbally abusing me and slapped me so many times that I lost count,” Saadur Rehman said.
He added that Chaudhry asked him where his money came from and said that he was having a bad effect on kids.
Saadur Rehman also revealed that NCCIA officers tried to bribe or blackmail him by asking for Rs 70–80 million, which he indicated he didn’t have
Allegations of Financial Wrongdoing
Saadur Rehman further said that an officer who was looking into the case made him get into his Binance account, close his cryptocurrency trades at a loss, change the money to USD, and then send the money to the officer’s personal account.
He said that his first day in jail was “very helpless” and that he was abused even though he was complying. He also said that when he saw someone he recognized, he quietly asked them to tell the guards to “beat him less.”
NCCIA Answers
An NCCIA Lahore representative said that the organization does not tolerate corruption when asked for a comment:
“The NCCIA has a zero-tolerance stance for dishonest behavior. Individuals, not the institution, are responsible for any misconduct.”
The FIA Anti-Corruption Wing is looking into the case, the spokeswoman said.
Investigations that are still going on
Six NCCIA employees were detained and held on October 28 for allegedly abusing their power and taking bribes.
The officials who were arrested are:
- Sarfraz Chaudhry, Additional Director
- Zawar is in charge, and Ali Raza is a sub-inspector
- Shoaib Riaz, Assistant Director
- Yasir Gujjar
- Mujtaba Kamran
Barrister Mian Ali Ashfaq says that the FIA took the six into prison and would bring them to a district court.
Saadur Rehman’s wife, Aroob Jatoi, filed a complaint that resulted in a first information report (FIR) against nine people, eight of them were NCCIA staff members.
