Abdullah Ahmad
LAHORE; A local court in Lahore on Tuesday handed over six officers of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on a three-day physical remand in a case involving corruption and misuse of authority.
Judicial Magistrate Naeem Wattoo announced the ruling after hearing arguments from both sides.
During the proceedings, defence counsel Mian Ali Ashfaq argued that his clients had been arrested unlawfully on bribery charges without the mandatory approval of the FIA Director General. He requested the court to dismiss the agency’s request for physical remand.
The FIA prosecutor, however, contended that the remand was essential for completing the investigation and confronting the accused with other suspects linked to the case.
When the court inquired about the progress of the inquiry and the reasons behind the arrests, the FIA representative responded that the investigation was still in progress and additional time was required to determine the full scope of the alleged offences.
After reserving its verdict, the court later granted the FIA a three-day physical remand of the accused officers.
The arrested officials include Additional Director Sarfraz Chaudhry, Deputy Directors Zawar Ahmed, Muhammad Usman and Ayaz Khan from FIA Headquarters Islamabad, Assistant Directors Shoaib Riaz and Mujtaba Zafar from FIA Lahore, and Sub-Inspectors Yasir Ramzan and Ali Raza.
