The NCRB passed on the information to different states, including Maharashtra.
SINCE DECEMBER 2019, as part of ‘Operation Blackface’, the state cyber department in coordination with local police stations has registered 213 FIRs and arrested 105 people across Maharashtra for uploading child pornography and sexually explicit videos and photographs of minors on the Internet.
The FIRs are registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act or the Information Technology Act and the Indian Penal Code.
The initiative was undertaken after a US non-profit, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, informed the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) that child pornography was being uploaded from different parts of India.
The NCRB passed on the information to different states, including Maharashtra.
Since 2019, 15,255 child abuse videos and photos have been uploaded from Maharashtra. Of the 15,255, 11,118 (73 per cent) was uploaded from major cities of the state.
A huge chunk was uploaded from Mumbai (4,496) and Pune (5,699).
The remaining were uploaded from Thane, Nagpur, Navi Mumbai, Pimpri Chinchwad, Nashik, Aurangabad and Solapur. Among districts, over 30 such videos were uploaded from Jalgaon, Thane rural, Palghar and Kolhapur.
“This year, we have registered 25 cases and arrested 50 people across Maharashtra. We shall continue to crack down against child pornography and sexual abuse of children,” said
Sanjay Shintre, Superintendent of Maharashtra cyber department.
While Nagpur city, which has received 302 complaints, has registered 38 FIRs and arrested 14 people, the Mumbai Police has received 4,496 complaints. It has registered only 11 FIRs and arrested three persons.
The Pune Police has lodged 16 FIRs and arrested nine people.
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