The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has registered a case against Punjab MPA Saqib Chadhar under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) over actor Momina Iqbal’s allegations of harassment and blackmail.
According to the FIR [First Information Report], Chadhar, his wife and his associates carried out cyber harassment and blackmailed Iqbal, allegedly conducting unlawful surveillance and issuing threats to both the actor and her family members.
The FIR also stated that Iqbal refused Chadhar’s marriage proposal after learning he was already married, following which he allegedly started blackmailing her by sending private videos and threatening to leak her personal data if she did not agree to marry him.
Blackmail videos allegedly sent by Chadhar were also recovered from Iqbal’s mobile phone.
The FIR further said that Chadhar levelled false accusations against the actor in 2023, which led to a failed marriage proposal. Threats were later extended to Iqbal’s now-husband as well.
Iqbal’s sister also provided the NCCIA with a video related to the alleged threats. The video and a mobile phone have been taken into custody as digital evidence and sent for forensic examination.
Threatening messages traced to Chadhar’s phone number have also been mentioned in the FIR that further alleged that the ruling party lawmaker deleted all data and applications from his phone before submitting the device to the NCCIA.
The FIR comes days after the cybercrime agency summoned both Iqbal and Chadhar for inquiry over the former’s formal complaint.
Meanwhile, a court in Lahore has granted interim bail to Saqib Chadhar, barring authorities from arresting him until June 24.
