ISLAMABAD: A high profile former officer who had been in hiding for two years has been arrested on charges that he posted obscene pictures of his ex-wife online.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) cyber crime wing arrested the sacked deputy inspector general of Police Services of Pakistan on Saturday from Lahore’s posh residential area, DHA.
Junaid Arshad’s ex-wife had filed a complaint against him for creating a fake Facebook account impersonating her and uploading her photographs to various social media websites.
She lodged an FIR in 2017 seeking his arrest.
However, Arshad sought bail from court, which was later rejected. Despite his bail rejection, neither police nor the FIA could arrest him.
In September last year, the victim filed a complaint with the then-Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar alleging that Arshad had “created a fake Facebook profile of the complainant and uploaded morphed sexually explicit images”.
2017
Arshad’s ex-wife filed a complaint against him for uploading pictures on social mediaTaking notice of her application, Nisar expressed his displeasure and asked whether the country’s police officers thought they were above the law.
Later, a case was registered against Arshad by the Cyber Crime Wing of the FIA and the police officer subsequently went into hiding.
In January this year, Federal Ombudsman also dismissed Arshad from the police service but he could not be arrested.
On Saturday, however, the FIA finally succeeded the nabbing the accused in the high profile case and produced him before a local court and gained a one day physical remand.
On Sunday, March 17, he was produced again before the court. A senior official of the FIA, speaking to Gulf News, said the accused is the son of a Superintendent Police and quite a "resourceful" person.
Lahore High Court bar’s senior members defended him and it was an uphill task for them to get even a 24-hour remand.
In her application, the ex-wife had stated that despite his request for bail being rejected by a trial court, the police had not taken him into custody for prosecution.
Three different cases have been registered against the accused, but he never joined the legal proceedings on any forum. FIA had also placed a Rs500,000 (Dh13,158) reward for his arrest.
The other suspect involved in the case, Danish, has already been punished before the court.
Arshad’s ex-wife is the daughter of a retired judge of the Lahore High Court and had vowed to take him to the courts for shaming her.
According to FIA officer, Arshad was living in a rented house in the DHA and was inside the house when the raid was conducted.
