'I tried getting out of paedophile group, but they kept adding me'

The Kandivli man named in child pornography racket claims he is innocent and that he was not involved in circulating the illegal clips

Satyendra Chauhan with his father Omprakash at their residence in Poisar, Kandivli, where CBI officers conducted a search after the arrest of an accused from UP

Family members of Satyendra Chauhan, 22, are in shock, ever since Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officers came knocking on their door, over their son being part of a WhatsApp group that shared child pornography. Satyendra said he was added to the group by an unknown person when he was in Bengaluru. Initially, he added, he downloaded a few videos, but on realising it's a porn group, he exited.

While showing the messages sent and received on the group to the CBI as evidence, Satyendra confessed he was unaware that watching porn was illegal, but that he exited and blocked the group on realising its purpose. At the moment, CBI has taken down his statement and seized his three phones, of which two are not working.

Also read: CBI unearths link to Kandivli man in Uttar Pradesh child porn racket

His father Omprakash said all parents should keep an eye on their children, so that they don't get mixed up in wrong things. The CBI on Thursday conducted a search at the Chauhans' home after arresting a person from Kannauj (Uttar Pradesh) for allegedly uploading/sharing child abuse videos and images on the WhatsApp group.

Officers said they have registered a case under section 67B of the Information Technology Act, 2000. The agency also conducted searches at the residences of others found on the WhatsApp group in Delhi, Noida and Kannauj, which led to the recovery of mobile phones, tablets and laptops containing incriminating material depicting children in obscene, indecent and sexually explicit acts. The probe has revealed that the group consisted of more than 100 members from India and 18 other countries, officers said. According to the CBI, the material present and exchanged through the WhatsApp group is prohibited under provisions of the IT Act.

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