CBI arrests junior engineer’s wife

KANPUR: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested Durgavati, the wife of irrigation department junior engineer Ram Bhavan Singh who is already in custody over allegations of sexual abuse of male children and sale of porn videos on the dark web.

A CBI spokesman confirmed the arrest which, he said, was done in an ongoing investigation. CBI arrested Durgavati under Section 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 17 (punishment for abetment) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The special unit carrying out the investigation in this case had questioned her several times.

The CBI had been keeping a watch on Durgavati on suspicion that she was in the know of her husband’s activities and even helped.

Her arrest was formalised after some victims confirmed the agency’s initial findings, said those privy to the investigation. CBI, they said, received written complaints from more than one victim that Durgavati was allegedly victimizing them and their families.

Ram Bhavan Singh was arrested on November 16 in Chitrakoot after CBI found him allegedly exploiting male children aged between six and 15 years and making their videos that he later sold on the dark web.

Apart from Rs 8.27 lakh cash, the CBI team recovered a number of cell phones, gaming consoles, video recording cameras and sex toys from Ram Bhavan’s residence at SDM Colony in Chitrakoot where he was posted at the time of his arrest.

According to CBI, Ram Bhavan was running India’s biggest paedophile racket for 12 years without getting noticed.