KARACHI: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has summoned four Karachi residents on a complaint filed by Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon over “false and malicious content on social media against him and his son” in connection with the Mir Raza Ali murder case.

The NCCIA’s notices, dated August 10 and seen by Dawn, stated that the agency was “conducting an inquiry into the subject matter concerning allegations of defamation through electronic/digital means, which was initiated on the basis of a complaint submitted by Naqvi Law Associates on behalf of Sharjeel Inam Memon, son of Inamul Haque Memon”.

“The complaint pertains to the alleged dissemination of defamatory and fabricated content through digital platforms, which […] has caused damage to his reputation and has attracted provisions of applicable cybercrime laws,” the notices said.

All four individuals have been directed to appear in person at the NCCIA Karachi office on Aug 13 at 11:30am.

The notices said the respondents were required to bring their original CNICs, relevant evidence and documents in their defence, record their statements and submit their digital devices.

The NCCIA warned that failure to comply would compel the agency to initiate legal proceedings before the competent court of law.

The development comes a day after Memon, through his counsel, approached the NCCIA against unidentified persons for allegedly “causing harassment” and creating false and malicious content on social media against him and his son.

Memon rejected allegations that he owned the guest house in Gulistan-i-Jauhar where Mir Raza Ali was allegedly tortured and murdered, and that his son had left for London immediately after the incident and had since been moving around with a bodyguard.

He said the allegations had “no factual or evidentiary basis” and were intended to malign him and his son for “extraneous political motives”.

His counsel asked the NCCIA to register an FIR and proceed against those found responsible under the applicable provisions of the Prevention of Electronic Crime Act, 2016, and any other relevant law.

An IBA graduate and owner of the eatery Wafflix, Ali had gone missing on July 28, and his body was found a day later with a gunshot wound in bushes near Shahi Qila Ground in Karachi’s Gulistan-i-Jauhar.

While investigators initially focused their probe on the possibility of suicide, Ali’s family has been saying that he was kidnapped, tortured and murdered. Later, a second postmortem following a controversy over his first autopsy revealed that he was shot in the back, ruling out the possibility of suicide.

The counsel for Ali’s family, Jibran Nasir, had demanded that the team probing the case be changed and accused the authorities of trying to “bury the facts”.

On Sunday, a new team was assigned the case, and a murder charge was also added to the first information.