CBI arrests 2 for sale, purchase of child sexual abuse material

New Delhi, Jan 10 : The CBI has arrested two persons in an ongoing investigation of a case related to the alleged sale and purchase of child sexual abuse material over Instagram and other social media platforms.

The accused, identified as Neeraj Kumar Yadav, Kuljeet Singh Makan, were arrested on Friday and were remanded to judicial custody up to January 22 by a special CBI court here on Saturday.

The CBI registered the case against a private person under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) Act, 2012 and Information and Technology Act, 2000 on the allegations that the accused was advertising over Instagram account for sale of objectionable material, including child pornographic material.

It was further alleged that the accused had purchased large volume of data from another accused person which was stored over cloud-based websites containing objectionable material, including the child pornography material and made payment to him through Paytm for the same.

Thereafter, the accused allegedly published an advertisement for the sale of the said material over Instagram, the CBI said.

“On receipt of payments via Paytm or Google Pay from the customers or seekers, the accused was allegedly sharing the objectionable material with them through WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram and other social media platforms. It was also alleged that he has gained monetary benefits and was indulging in these activities since 2019.”

–IANS
rak/dpb