Maharashtra sees spike in child pornography amid lockdown

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The lockdown has started to show some 'side effects' such as depression and anxiety in citizens. There have also been reports of increase in domestic violence in the state. But sadly, the police have also seen another disturbing trend. Maharashtra is especially seeing a spike in the consumption of child pornography online. The police have arrested 46 persons for indulging in child pornography across the state since the lockdown.

"The cybercrime department of the Maharashtra police registered 133 cases and arrested 46 people under IPC Sections 292 (prurient creation of lascivious images), the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO) Act and the IT Act during the lockdown," said a senior police officer.

Watch over your child
"The spike in child porn consumption during the lockdown period shows the huge presence of paedophiles, child rapists and child pornography addicts online. We are taking urgent steps to tighten stringency to prevent a drastic rise in sexual crimes against children," said Anil Deshmukh, Home Minister, Maharashtra.

The home minister has also urged parents to keep a watch on what their child is browsing on the Internet through the laptop, mobile phone, desktop or tablet. He said parents should be vigilant about the behaviour of the child. They should also keep an eye on their bank statement and credit card bills to keep a tab on unfamiliar payments.

Cyber cops on the lookout
Maharashtra is one of the states worst hit by COVID-19 in the country, with 4,203 cases reported till now and more than 223 deaths. To eradicate paedophiles from the state, Operation Blackface was launched in mid-January 2020. Through it, the cyber police try to locate child porn uploaders on social networking sites.

46
No. of people arrested for creating child pornography

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