ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Wednesday arrested journalist Mohsin Jamil Baig after he allegedly opened fire and manhandled the agency’s raiding team.
According to the FIA, the FIA’s Cyber Crime Wing (CCW), Lahore raided Baig’s house on the complaint of Communications Minister Murad Saeed, who had registered a first information report (FIR) against Baig at CCW reporting centre of the agency in Lahore under Sections 20 (offences against the dignity of a natural person), 21-D (offences against modesty of a natural person and minor) and 24 (cyber stalking) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 read with Sections 500 (defaming army officers) and 555 (statement conducing to public mischief) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
The agency officials conducted raid following obtaining a search and seizure warrant from the relevant court.
It says that during the raid, Mohsin Baig and his son and servants directly fired at the FIA team and made two officials hostage. It added that Baig was arrested after he ran out of bullets and was shifted to Margalla police station. Following firing heavy contingent rushed to the scene. Later, the city police registered separate FIR against Baig under 7ATA (Anti-Terrorism Act) and section 324,342,353,186,148 and 149 of Pakistan Penal Code (PCC).
According to the FIR registered by the FIA against Baig, a case was registered on February 16 on the complaint of Murad Saeed, federal minister for communications. On February 10, Mohsin Baig assassinated his character by using abusive and immoral language in a talk show, the FIR says. The alleged in presence of other participants related a baseless story with derogatory remarks and the same was thereafter shared through social media including YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. This shattered his image in public.
The FIR says that matter of the fact is that the panelist Baig cautiously correlated some incident with Saeed and the prime minister which lead to disgrace the personality of the minister and caused to create uncertainty in public. The panelist used derogatory remarks without any plausible reason whereas, the book written by Reham Khan with which he was being correlated specifically untrue story. Moreover, the intention to associate the name of minister with factitious incidents and the same was also being allies with prime minister in the light of the context of the book the aforesaid members of the talk show express their intentions to disgrace the personality of a natural person and the alleged persons tried to distort the complainant image for his ulterior motives and it also lead to cultivate and include a natural person to engage in a sexually explicit act without verifying the authenticity of the written verification of this rumors through an information system.
The comments shared by the panelist Baig against the minister reasoning to disparaging and shrewd the personal integrity of the minister and prima facia the accused person namely Baig committed offence under section 20, 21 (d) and 24 of PECA 2016 R/W 500,505-PPC.
Baig’s son told media that the FIA officials in plainclothes came to their house today and arrested his father. He said that initially, we assumed that some thieves were entering into our house and opened aerial fire, but later they introduced themselves as FIA’s officials. The FIA officials did not produce arrest warrants to them and arrested his father. Later, a heavy contingent of police including personnel of counter terrorism force (CFT) reached our house.
After the arrest of Baig, his counsel Raheel Niazi filed a petition before additional sessions judge Zafer Iqbal against the arrest of Baig. The court appointed a bailiff and ordered the authorities to produce Baig before it. Baig’s lawyer told the court that people in plainclothes came to his house earlier today and took the journalist with them. He further told the court that Baig and his family members sought arrest warrants and search warrants from the concerned officials but they refused to produce it. The officials in plainclothes smashed mobile phones and hit the children at the house, he said.
The additional sessions judge, Zafer Iqbal, ordered Station House Officer (SHO) Margalla police station to appear before it and produce Baig before the court.
Meanwhile, the Islamabad police spokesperson said that the FIA faced resistance and Baig opened fire due to which an FIA official was injured. Baig has been transferred to the police station and further legal action is being taken, the spokesman said. Later, police produced Baig before Anti-Terrorists Court (ATC) judge Muhammad Ali and requested the court to give the accused in police remand. The court granted to police three-day physical remand of Baig.
Talking to media, Baig said that following the direction of Prime Minister Imran, the FIA officials have toured him in the police station.
To a question about Murad Saeed’s application, he said that he has not stated anything wrong.
The book has been published and is available on the internet and market, they either contradict the book or sue Reham Khan, he said.
According to the written orders of additional sessions judge Zafer Iqbal it is quite obvious from the FIR registered by the FIA and the police that an illegal raid has been conducted at journalist Mohsin Baig’s house and conducted by persons not authorised to do so. The FIA officials conducted raid without any search warrant, it says.
It is crystal clear from the fact that no raiding party departed from and SHO was unable to produce any official of FIA Lahore along with relevant record.
It further said that the FIR registered by Margalla Police is “devoid of any police diary, statement of any person recorded under Section 161 CrPC and recovery memo of crime empties allegedly fired by the accused party.”
Instead of registering an FIR against the unauthorized raiding party, the Margalla Police SHO registered his own FIR, “for showing fake efficiency,” the court order read, adding that the “misconduct of the SHO is quite floating on the surface of the record.”
It says that this order disposed of with the direction that SHO to entertain the application of alleged detenu as per law.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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