Punjab Police crack down on online child sexual abuse; one arrested

Punjab Police's Cyber Crime Division has arrested one person and identified 54 suspects involved in viewing, transmitting and distributing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) using various online platforms, said Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav on Thursday.

The development came close on the heels of the apex court, in a landmark verdict recently, holding that watching and downloading child pornography are offences under the POCSO Act and the Information Technology Act.

CSAM refers to any content depicting or exploiting minors in a sexual manner, including photos, videos, or media, which is illegal to produce, distribute, or possess, causing long-lasting harm to victims and considered a severe form of child exploitation due to the lasting impact it has on victims, a Punjab Police statement said here.

The arrested accused has been identified as Vijaypal, a resident of Ramsra in Fazilka. Police teams have also seized electronic devices following standard procedures, with proper hash values recorded.

An FIR has been registered under Section 67B of the IT Act at the Cyber police station in this regard, the DGP said.

Yadav said that following the Cyber Tiplines (centralised reporting system for the online exploitation of children) regarding transmission of CSAM content received from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the State Cyber Crime Division in coordination with the police commissioners and senior superintendents of police, launched a special operation to apprehend individuals involved in viewing, transmitting, and distributing such content.

He said that in the first phase of the operation, as many as 54 suspects have been identified across Punjab, while, one person found selling and sharing CSAM using Instagram and Telegram has been arrested from Fazilka.

The DGP said police teams have seized 39 devices from different suspects during the operation and are being sent for forensic analysis. Further, investigations are under way to identify and apprehend more offenders involved in such heinous crimes, he added.