Child porn racket: CBI carries out raids in 14 states, registers 23 FIRs

People are disseminating child porn by way of sharing links, videos, pictures, texts, posts and hosting such content on social media groups. Representation pic

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday carried out raids at 77 locations in 14 states in connection with a child pornography racket being run across the country. The special wing of the federal agency has registered 23 FIRs based on information received by them. So far no arrests have been made in the case.

As per the special crime wing of the central agency, the cases were registered after they received source-based information that a syndicate of individuals based in different parts of India and foreign countries was circulating, storing and viewing Child Sexual Exploitation Material (CSEM) through various social media platforms/groups. Such people are disseminating CSEM by way of sharing links, videos, pictures, texts, posts and hosting such content on social media groups/platforms (especially through WhatsApp groups and third-party storage/hosting platforms).

After registering the FIRs, the agency carried out raids in 14 states, including Maharashtra's Dhule and Jalgaon, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Bihar, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. Some raids were conducted in Union Territories as well. The FIRs have been registered under Section 14 (use of child for pornographic purposes) of the POCSO Act and Section 67-B (transmitting of material depicting children in sexually explicit act) of the Information Technology Act.

"Globally, the importance of recognising and combating online child sexual abuse has been acknowledged. Every year a lot of children face abuse, which becomes even more horrific when online platforms are used for it. It is a challenge for all stakeholders, including law enforcement agencies. Cooperation among law enforcement agencies is paramount for tackling this menace," said a CBI spokesperson in a statement. "The raids are still going on and we will share the details after they are done," the spokesperson told mid-day. According to the agency, they have created a special cell called Online Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Prevention/Investigation to deal with such matters.

During the raids, the agency seized a number of electronic gadgets. As per initial information, the agency said there were more than 50 groups of 5,000 offenders sharing child sexual abuse material online. Foreign nationals are also part of these groups. In October last year CBI had filed a similar case against a Mumbai-based TV actor, who was found to have shared over 1,000 child pornography videos across the world.