Social policing?: Woman arrested for sharing ‘objectionable’ photos of constable

FIA takes accused and her husband into custody

PESHAWAR: A local court dismissed the extension of the pre-arrest bail application of a woman arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency for sharing ‘objectionable’ photos of a friend on a messaging application Whatsapp.

The court dismissed the pre-arrest bail of Neelam Ismail after which she was taken into custody by a team of FIA for further investigation. Her husband Mohsin Ali is in Central Prison Peshawar as the SIM card of the mobile, from which the pictures were shared, was issued in his name. The court had already rejected Mohsin’s pre-arrest bail.

Neelam was later shifted to a women’s police station for interrogation.

Neelam is said to be a model affiliated with show business and works for the television industry.

The FIA arrested her and her husband after a constable, Gul Meena, filed an FIR against Neelam, accusing Neelam of sharing her photos on Whatsapp. Meena filed the FIR on March 26.

The accused had obtained a pre-arrest bail from the court but the application of its extension was rejected.

She was arrested under sections 36 and 37 of the Electronic Transaction Act 2002, which deal with the violation of privacy of information and damage to information systems.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 21^st, 2015.