77 places raided in 14 States/UTs in cases related to sexual exploitation
In a coordinated crackdown against online content providers on child sexual abuse, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday conducted searches at around 77 locations across India in 14 States/Union Territories in connection with 23 separate cases registered on Sunday against total 83 accused on the allegations related to online child sexual abuse and exploitation (OCSAE).
As per preliminary information collected after the searches, more than 50 groups with 5,000 plus offenders are sharing child sexual abuse material. Initial estimates also suggest that nationals of around 100 countries spread across various continents may be involved in the racket.
The searches were conducted in Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Bihar, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh.
“In a nationwide coordinated crackdown on crime related to online child sexual abuse material, the CBI registered 23 separate cases on 14.11.2021 against 83 accused on the allegations related to online child sexual abuse and exploitation,” the CBI said in a statement.
The agency further said, “It was alleged that various syndicates of individuals based in different parts of India and foreign countries were indulging in circulating, storing and viewing child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) through various social media platforms/groups.”
It was also alleged that people were spreading CSEM by way of sharing links, videos, pictures, texts, posts and hosting of such content on social media groups/platforms and third party storage/hosting platforms, it said.