Delhi Police Arrest 10 for Circulating Child Sexual Abuse Material Online
The Central district police in Delhi have arrested 10 individuals and registered 10 First Information Reports (FIRs) over a five-day period for allegedly transmitting, downloading, storing, and circulating child sexual exploitative and abuse material (CSEAM), officials confirmed on Sunday.
The cases were filed under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Information Technology Act following a targeted operation conducted between July 13 and July 18. Police said the operation was launched after analysing digital indicators and receiving international cyber tip-offs from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), a U.S.-based organisation that operates the CyberTipline. This platform is designated by the U.S. government to process complaints of online child sexual exploitation.
“CyberTipline provided technical inputs pointing to suspected online activity involving child sexual abuse material. These leads were subjected to technical verification, which confirmed the transmission of prohibited content and led to the registration of criminal cases,” said Rohit Rajbir Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central).
Dedicated teams were formed across all police stations in the district to simultaneously target multiple suspects. Based on technical intelligence, digital scrutiny, and electronic tracing, coordinated searches were conducted at various locations, leading to the identification and arrest of the accused.
Police reported that the accused used social media platforms, cloud storage services, and applications on Android and iOS devices to transmit and share the material. “As of now, there is no evidence to suggest that the accused were part of an organised syndicate. Each FIR is being investigated independently,” the officer added.
The FIRs were registered at police stations including I.P. Estate, Paharganj, Jama Masjid, Kamla Market, Patel Nagar, and Chandni Mahal. Multiple cases were lodged at I.P. Estate, Paharganj, and Chandni Mahal stations.
All 10 accused, aged between 25 and 30, are residents of Delhi. “They were both consumers and transmitters of child sexual exploitation material, uploading such content on social media, cloud platforms and other applications,” the officer said. The identities of the accused have not been disclosed as the investigation is ongoing.
During the operation, police seized mobile phones and other digital devices suspected to have been used in the offences. “All seized electronic devices have been secured and sent for forensic examination,” Mr. Singh stated. Investigators are conducting detailed forensic analysis of the devices and examining additional digital footprints to identify others possibly involved in the circulation of such material. Further arrests are expected, police said.
