One arrested, 14 questioned after CBI raids in Jhansi, Jalaun

KANPUR : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), probing into the child pornography case that surfaced last year in Konch town of Jalaun district unearthed a similar racket after conducting raids in Jhansi and Jalaun on Wednesday. The teams arrested one person, questioned 14 people and seized some cell phones, including one belonging to the arrested person, said officials.

One of those questioned was a Class 11 student from a village close to Konch. He allegedly used to upload child porn videos and shared them on select What’sApp groups, said sources in Jalaun police. The boy was served notice and asked to appear before the CBI next week, said an official, adding that he was linked to an elaborate network of child pornography.

Meanwhile, another team carried out a raid in Erach village of Jhansi, from where one person was said to be arrested and taken to Delhi for questioning. The person was linked to the boy and was one of the brains behind the network, said officials.

Those behind the racket were also involved in blackmailing families of children.

They asked them to pay up or else the videos would be uploaded on the web. The boy revealed that his cousin (son of his maternal uncle) coaxed him into sharing porn material to earn easy money (in dollars). His parents were also questioned for about eight hours, said another official.

The boy’s job was to upload the videos on a website and shared the links on WhatsApp groups for which he used to earn points. “He was uploading three to four videos every day. The money was transferred into the account of his cousin,” said the official, adding that the boy was engaged in a part-time job at a mobile repair shop of his relative where he became proficient in dealing with this stuff.

At least 10 people were detained by the CBI on Tuesday during raids at 77 locations across 14 states and Union territories, to crack down on sexual abuse and circulation of child pornography material, officials familiar with the matter said.

As many as 23 FIRs were registered against 83 accused persons, in the last two days, for allegedly posting and circulating child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) through various social media platforms. Last year in December, the CBI had arrested a retired lekhpal, Ram Bihari Rathore, who used to sedate child visitors to sexually exploit them and make their videos. In November last year, the agency had also arrested Ram Bhavan, a junior engineer with the irrigation department in Chitrakoot, for allegedly sexually exploiting 70 children.