Punjab police crack down on online child sexual abuse; one person arrested

The Cyber ​​Crime Branch of Punjab Police has arrested one person and identified 54 suspects involved in viewing, sending and distributing child abuse material (CSAM) through various online platforms, Superintendent of Police Gaurav Yadav said on Thursday.

This development comes shortly after the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling that viewing and downloading child pornography are punishable offences under the POCSO Act and the Information Technology Act.

CSAM refers to any content that depicts or exploits minors in a sexual manner, including photos, videos and media, the production, distribution or possession of which is illegal and causes lasting harm to the victims. It is considered a serious form of child exploitation due to the lasting impact it has on the victims, a statement from the Punjab Police said.

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

According to the DGP, an FIR has been registered in this regard with the Cyber ​​Police Station under Section 67B of the IT Act.

Yadav said that following the Cyber ​​Tiplines (Centralised Reporting System for Online Child Exploitation) regarding transmission of CSAM content received from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the State Cyber ​​Crime Division in collaboration with the police chiefs and senior police superintendents has launched a special operation to arrest persons involved in viewing, sending and disseminating such content.

He said that in the first phase of the operation, as many as 54 suspects have been identified in Punjab while one person has been arrested in Fazilka who was caught selling and sharing CSAM material through Instagram and Telegram.

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