A Malir court has remanded two officials of the Sindh social welfare department in the custody of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for interrogation in a harassment case.
Saqib Shaikh, an assistant social welfare officer, and Adeel Memon, a junior clerk, have been arrested by the FIA for allegedly leaking phone numbers of their female colleagues to defame and harass them.
The investigating officer, Ameer Ali Khoso, produced both the detained suspects before the judicial magistrate-I (Malir) and requested their physical remand for further investigation. Approving the IO’s plea, the court handed over the custody of the suspects to the FIA and directed the officer to produce them on the next date of hearing along with an investigation report.
On October 13, 2010, an assistant director of the department had lodged a complaint with the FIA Cyber Crime Wing, stating that she had been receiving frequent “immoral and obnoxious” phone calls, video calls and messages.
Pornographic material was being shared through WhatsApp by unknown mobile numbers from within and outside Pakistan in an attempt to frighten and intimidate the women employees, she added. Following the complaint, an inquiry was launched and statements of the victims were
recorded. During the course of the investigation, FIA officials traced a phone number allegedly being operated by suspect Saqib Shaikh to leak the contacts of women employees of the department to different social media groups, where objectionable material, including obscene videos and images, was being shared. The number was registered in the name of Hazoor Bux, who was in contact with Adeel Memon. Subsequently, a first information report (FIR) was registered against Saqib, Adeel and Hazoor Bux under sections 20, 21, 24 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca), 2016.