LEGAL
Shocking details have emerged in the bribery case registered against Chaudhry Sarfraz, Additional Director of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), and several other officers. The case, filed on the complaint of Aroob Jatoi, wife of popular YouTuber Saad-ur-Rehman, commonly known as Dikki Bhai, includes grave allegations of bribery and abuse of authority.
According to the FIR, the officers allegedly received over Rs 100 million in bribes from Dikki Bhai’s family in exchange for “relief” in the ongoing investigation. The complaint also accuses the officials of withdrawing $326,420 from Dikki Bhai’s TikTok account during the probe.
The report states that Investigating Officer Shoaib Riaz first received Rs 6 million through a frontman named Usman, a close friend of the YouTuber. Later, Riaz allegedly took an additional Rs 3 million to secure Dikki Bhai’s judicial remand.
Further, the FIR reveals that Rs 5 million was deposited with a car showroom owner through the same frontman, while Riaz kept Rs 2 million for himself. Out of this amount, Rs 5 million was handed to Additional Director Chaudhry Sarfraz, reportedly as part of the bribery deal.
In total, eight officers and one frontman have been named in the FIR for misusing their authority and attempting to influence the legal process. The accused include:
· Additional Director Chaudhry Sarfraz
· Deputy Director Zawar Ahmed
· Deputy Directors Muhammad Usman and Ayaz Khan (Islamabad HQ)
· Assistant Directors Shoaib Riaz and Mujtaba Zafar (Lahore)
· Sub-Inspector Yasir Ramzan
· Officers Ali Raza and Salman Aziz (frontman)
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) confirmed that four NCCIA officers, including Additional Director Chaudhry Sarfraz, were arrested in Lahore on Monday in connection with the case.
It is pertinent to mention that Dikki Bhai has been in NCCIA custody since August 20 on allegations of involvement in an international online gambling network. He is accused of promoting gambling apps on social media in exchange for large sums of money.
His post-arrest bail applications have been rejected by both the Judicial Magistrate and the Sessions Court, keeping him under judicial remand.
The investigation into both the bribery scandal and the gambling network case is ongoing, with authorities expected to make further arrests in the coming days.