Popular YouTuber Saadur Rehman, widely known as Ducky Bhai, has come forward with serious claims that he was tortured and humiliated while in the custody of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), breaking down as he recounted being slapped, abused and made an example of in front of a child during questioning by a senior officer.
Rehman was taken into custody on August 17 this year at Lahore Airport as he was about to travel abroad, after being accused of laundering money through a gambling app.
He then spent nearly three months under NCCIA detention before finally securing bail from the Lahore High Court, leading to his release on November 26.
In a video message released on his YouTube channel, Rehman recounted what he says happened to him while he was in custody, alleging he was beaten, insulted and abused during questioning.
Levelling a direct accusation against former NCCIA Lahore Additional Director Sarfraz Chaudhry, he said that during the investigation, he was repeatedly slapped on the face, abused with obscene language, forced to bend his legs and raise his arms, and even subjected to a video call in which a child was encouraged to hurl abuse at him.
"He takes the handcuff, puts it on my hand and says, ‘come with me,’" Rehman said, recalling being taken into the additional director’s room where several officers were present.
He said Chaudhry first asked him which application he was “country head” of, then became angry when he replied that he was a YouTuber with eight million subscribers who earned money from ads.
According to Rehman, the officer accused him of “corrupting the children of my beloved homeland”, hurled abuses and slapped him repeatedly. “He kept beating me until his heart was satisfied. I did not even count how many slaps he gave me,” he said.
He further alleged that Chaudhry then ordered him to bend his legs and raise his hands while calling a seven-year-old child on video and using him as an example to deter the child from watching his content.
In September this year, Chaudhry was dismissed from service and removed from his post, reportedly over various controversies, including allegedly beating Rehman, and in October, the FIA arrested him along with six NCCIA officers on charges of misuse of authority and taking bribes.
