Prominent YouTuber Saadur Rahman, aka Ducky Bhai, has alleged physical abuse and torture during his custody in NCCIA. In an hour-long video uploaded on his YouTube channel on Sunday evening, he made harrowing allegations.
He made allegations of physical and verbal abuse while in the custody of NCCIA officer Sarfaraz Chaudhry. The YouTuber was arrested back in August at the Lahore airport by the agency for allegedly promoting online gambling and betting applications through his platform. He was also accused of leading one such organization in Pakistan. Lahore High Court granted him bail on November 25th. However, even after bail, he was not released from official custody.
He named Sarfaraz Chaudhry, one of the officers of NCCIA, for subjecting him to physical and verbal abuse. However, the said officer was removed from his post in September, reportedly over various controversies, including allegedly beating the YouTuber.
In an hour-long video uploaded on his YouTube channel, Saadur Rahman walked his audience through the timeline of events leading from his arrest to his release. He also shared details of his time during his remand in NCCIA’s custody.
He said, “On August 16, I woke up feeling happy because we had organised a gathering at our home and all our guests had arrived. After the event, we were preparing to attend an international event, packing our things.”
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He continued, “After packing, when we left the house, I had no idea of what was about to happen, and that’s when my difficult time began.”
Accusing Sarfaraz Chaudhry of abuse, the YouTuber said, “he stood up from his chair and verbally abused me”.
“He asked me, ’Where does your money come from?’ I replied that it comes from YouTube. I have eight million subscribers. He accused me of corrupting children’s minds.
“He kept verbally abusing me and slapped me so much I lost count.”
“When I was in NCCIA custody, you probably heard about $326,000 during a podcast with the assistant director. He said that they seized this money from me … the investigating officer (IO) ordered me to open my Binance account,” Rehman alleged.
“He closed all my trades and tokens at a loss and converted them to US dollars. He then ordered me to transfer it.”
Later in the video, he apologized to the nation after remaining silent for 100 days following his arrest in the gambling app case. Sardar Rahman was arrested following an FIR lodged by NCCIA under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 in relevant sections of the Pakistan Penal Code.
The case was registered on August 17 under Section 13 (Electronic Forgery), 14 (Electronic Fraud), 25 (Spamming), and 26 (Spoofing) of PECA, along with Sections 2294B (Offering Price in Connection with Trade) and 420 (Cheating and Dishonesty), including Delivery of Property of the PPC. The FIR accuses the YouTuber of promoting gambling and betting applications that defrauded users and collected millions of rupees.
“If anyone believes that the purpose of this video is to justify the FIR filed against me, I apologise,” he said. He added, “If my content has had any negative impact, I sincerely apologise to the entire nation.”
“If, knowingly or unknowingly, I uploaded content or promotions that caused a negative impact, I apologise to the nation,” he said.
He added that he will pursue his legal matters to the very end and is fully prepared to accept the judgment. However, he also accused the officials of bribing his family, offering to resolve the issue for Rs 70-80 million.