A judicial magistrate on Tuesday remanded anchorperson Iqrarul Hasan in the custody of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) for four days. Iqrar, who was allegedly picked up from his residence in Lahore in the early hours of Monday, has been arrested and booked by the NCCIA for "intentionally disseminating false, fabricated, anti-state and defamatory content with the object of instigating the general public against the state, its institutions and its functionaries."
The NCCIA officer investigating the case produced Iqrar before the judicial magistrate (East) and requested his 14-day physical remand for completion of investigation. He stated that the anchorperson was arrested in the present case on October 12 after being informed of the grounds of his arrest.
His custody is required for the recovery of mobile phones, laptops, and other digital devices, SIMs, and media storage used by him for the creation, editing, uploading, and posting of the impugned content, the investigating officer added. He said that he was also required to establish the exclusive control and operation of the X, Instagram, and Facebook accounts used by the suspect, including email addresses, mobile numbers, and recovery details linked therewith, and confronting him with the account information to be obtained from the service providers through proper channels.
The IO said that the identity and role of any other persons, including content producers, editors, social media handlers, or facilitators who assisted the suspect in producing, editing, or disseminating the impugned content, would be ascertained and arrested if found involved. He said that he would also probe the monetization, revenue, or any other financial benefit derived from the accounts and any financial transactions related to the dissemination of the impugned content.
The magistrate handed over Iqrar's custody to the NCCIA on a four-day physical remand with a direction to the IO to produce him upon the completion of his remand on October 17. To a query, Iqrar did not complain of any maltreatment at the hands of NCCIA officials.
Meanwhile, the magistrate allowed an application filed on behalf of Iqrar, seeking permission for his meeting with the legal team in NCCIA custody for the purpose of obtaining his signature on a vakalatnama. However, the court instructed that a plea for his meeting with family members during physical custody be filed before the concerned magistrate for an appropriate order.
According to the investigating officer, NCCIA Karachi launched an inquiry upon the receipt of a source report on October 10 from a credible source stating that Iqrar, through his personal social media accounts on X, Instagram, and Facebook, was "intentionally disseminating false, fabricated, anti-state and defamatory content with the object of instigating the general public against the state, its institutions and its functionaries."
It said that the anchorperson's posts contained "false and fabricated content falsely portraying the state, its institutions, and officials, depicting lawful measures as controversial, and wrongly glorifying convicted individuals to incite public dissent against the state and authorities." "This content threatened the Federation's integrity, unity, and public order," he added.
An FIR has been registered under sections 9 (glorification of an offence), 10 (cyber terrorism), 20 (offences against dignity of a natural person), 24 (cyberstalking), and other relevant provisions of the law.