Rajasthan Police block 15,326 mobile numbers linked to online child abuse material

Rajasthan Police have blocked 15,326 mobile numbers, nearly 7,800 URLs and online profiles, and 100 devices allegedly linked to the circulation of child sexual exploitation and abuse material (CSEAM), a senior police officer said on Monday.

Additional Director General of Police (Cyber Crime) V K Singh said police had received around 25,000 inputs related to such online activity and were taking action after analysing digital trails.

Cases have been registered in Churu, Nagaur, Alwar, Khairthal-Tijara, Sikar, Hanumangarh and Chittorgarh based on tipline reports received from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), Singh said at a press conference at the police headquarters.

“Repeated offenders are being identified on the basis of NCMEC tipline reports and cases are being registered against them,” he said.

Singh said cyber criminals were using private and paid groups or channels on platforms such as Telegram and Discord to circulate CSEAM. Users allegedly joined such groups using fake identities and exchanged material through direct messages.

In some cases, he said, the material was uploaded to Google Drive or other cloud storage services, with only links shared among users.

Police said coded words and hashtags were also being used on platforms such as Instagram and Facebook to establish contact before conversations moved to platforms perceived to have less monitoring.

Technical analysis of NCMEC reports and digital trails was being used to identify suspected accounts, mobile numbers and devices, Singh said.

Rajasthan Police were also coordinating with police agencies in other states when suspects were found to be operating from outside the state, he said.

Singh appealed to people to report such material rather than download, store or share it. He warned that possession and circulation of child sexual exploitation material can attract action under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Information Technology Act and other applicable laws.

Such activity can be reported to the nearest police station, the cybercrime helpline 1930 or through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, he said.