Child Pornography: CBI unearths social media groups with 5000 members from 100 nations
During a raid at 77 places across India on Tuesday, the CBI has found gadgets, pen drives and laptops related to pornography.
FollowOfficially, child pornography is banned in India. However, in reality, it is rampant and prevalent on a large scale across the country. On Tuesday, the Central Bureau of Investigation raided 77 cities in 14 states of the country. An FIR was registered in which 39 people were named as accused; seven were even arrested. A total of 13 suspects are being interrogated. The crime was being perpetrated from a WhatsApp group by the name of Only Child Sex Videos. During the raid, the CBI has found gadgets, pen drives and laptops related to pornography. Â
5000 people from 100 countries share videos
In a recent action against child pornography and its affiliates, the CBI said that there are more than 50 messaging and social media groups, in which around 5000 people from more than 100 countries are connected. They share videos of child pornography. The CBI said those involved in the sharing of child pornography include 36 people from Pakistan, 35 from Canada, 35 from America, 31 from Bangladesh, 30 from Sri Lanka, 28 from Nigeria, 27 from Azerbaijan, 24 from Yemen and 22 from Malaysia.
Girls on target in child pornography
According to Interpol, 2.4 million cases of online child sexual abuse were reported in India from 2017 to 2020. Of these, 80 per cent are girls under the age of 14. The content and consumers of child pornography are increasing rapidly. According to a report by the authorities, search engines on the Internet show that more than 1.16 lakh searches daily related to child pornography.Â
Laws related to child pornography in India
Whenever it comes to child pornography, it is important to first understand the laws regarding it in India. In a nutshell, child pornography is illegal in India. Its publication, transmission and possession are all illegal. The use of a child or children for obscene purposes is an offence under Section 14 of the POCSO Act 2012, which is punishable with imprisonment of not less than five years. Apart from this, there is also a provision of imprisonment of seven years along with a fine.Â
Section 15 of the POCSO Act also makes it illegal to transmit, promote, display, share or store child pornography in any manner. The punishment under section 15 can also be increased from three to five years. Apart from this, publishing objectionable photographs, videos of children electronically is considered an offense under section 67B of the IT Act.Â
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