The Traffic Police in Rawalpindi have lodged an FIR against a businessman under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), 2016 for allegedly posting a "misleading video" with regard to removal of cars parked in violation of rules, raising concerns about the misuse of the country's cybercrime law.
An FIR has been registered at the Cantonment Police Station under PECA, 2016 on the complaint of a city traffic police warden Imran Sikandar. According to Sikander, he and his staff came across a video on TikTok, posted from the account of a Rizwan Singer.
The video showed a wrongly parked car being lifted outside Hussain Autos on Kashmir Road in the garrison city. A proper challan ticket had been issued for the violation.
However, the FIR claimed that the video was presented in a misleading manner.
"The owner of Hussain Autos allegedly created and circulated a misleading and malicious video to incite public hatred and agitation against the police. Such actions are considered an offense under the PECA Act, 2016," the FIR said. The police have now initiated an investigation.
The government in January amended PECA 2016 amid protest by journalist organizations.
Recently, a case was registered against a citizen in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under the cybercrime law for casting doubt on the integrity of the official moon sighting committee. Earlier, only the FIA was empowered to register cases under PECA, 2016.
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