Police have 3 days to trace NCCIA officer

ISLAMABAD:

The capital's high court has ordered authorities to trace a deputy director of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) in three days, warning that otherwise the capital's police chief and the NCCIA central director will appear in court in person.

An Islamabad High Court (IHC) bench comprising Justice Muhammad Azam Khan on Monday took up a petition filed by Rozina Usman, the wife of NCCIA Deputy Director Muhammad Usman, who was allegedly abducted from the parking of his apartment building on October 14.

During the hearing, the petitioner's counsel, Raja Rizwan Abbasi, informed the court that he had also been unable to contact the petitioner as her mobile phone was switched off. He expressed concern that she too might have been "picked up".

The lawyer told the court that the petitioner had earlier called him, saying she was being pressured to withdraw the petition. He added that her husband had been working on sensitive cases and was abducted in a white Corolla with a suspicious number plate.

Addressing the police officials, the court asked how a vehicle with dubious number plate was allowed to move around Islamabad when there are police checkpoints and CCTV cameras all over the city.

"This is a very serious matter. You must locate him; otherwise, we will be forced to issue the kind of orders that other benches have been giving," he said.

The court directed the police to trace the calls received by the petitioner through Call Data Records (CDR) to identify those pressuring her.