The raids were launched after the agency registered two cases under the IT Act based on inputs from the Singapore-based Crime Against Children (CAC) unit of the Interpol, which had received it from the New Zealand police, officials said. In a major crackdown on online circulation and sharing of child sexual abuse material, ‘Operation Megh-Chakra’, the CBI on Saturday conducted raids at 59 locations in 21 states and Union Territories.
The raids were launched after the agency registered two cases under relevant provisions of the IT Act, based on inputs from the Crime Against Children (CAC) unit of the Interpol, based in Singapore, which had received it from New Zealand police, officials said.
Searches were conducted at locations in Haryana, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala and Chhattisgarh, among others, officials said.
The agency had carried out a similar crackdown, named ‘Operation Carbon’, in November 2021. As part of that, raids were conducted at 76 locations across the country against 83 persons. Several people were arrested.
“Currently, the agency is questioning some suspects about illicit material found on their electronic devices so as to identify the victims and the abusers. It was alleged that a number of Indian citizens were involved in circulation, downloading, transmission of OCSAM [online child sexual abuse material] using cloud-based storage,” a CBI spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said information received in Interpol from law enforcement authorities of New Zealand was analysed and developed by CBI, and suspects were identified to locate and disrupt further distribution.
The operation is targeted at cloud storage — therefore the codename ‘Megha Chakra’ — used by peddlers to circulate audio-visual material on illicit sexual activities with minors.
Officials said CBI, the first Indian law enforcement agency to set up a cybercrime unit, has hit CSAM peddlers across India as part of Saturday’s operation. A large number of electronic devices such as mobile phones and laptops belonging to more than 50 suspects were recovered during the raids, officials said.
Preliminary scrutiny of these electronic devices using cyber forensic tools has allegedly revealed the presence of a “huge quantity of CSAM” in several of these devices, the spokesperson said. “The operation will collate information from law enforcement agencies in India, engage with agencies globally and coordinate closely through Interpol channels to combat online child sexual exploitation and such organised cyber-criminal activities,” the agency stated.
Among 59 locations searched in 21 states or UTs are Faridabad, Fatehabad (Haryana); Dehradun (Uttarakhand); Kachh (Gujarat); Ghaziabad, Hathras, Maharajganj (Uttar Pradesh); Bardhaman, Murshidabad (West Bengal); Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Thane, Nanded, Solapur, Kolahpur and Nagpur (all in Maharashtra); Ranchi, Dhanbad (Jharkhand); Chittoor, Krishna (Andhra Pradesh); Bengaluru, Kodagu, Ram Nagar, Kolar (Karnataka); Raipur (Chhattisgarh); New Delhi; Chelakkara (Kerala); Chennai, Dindigul, Cuddalore (TN); Gurdaspur and Hosiarpur (Punjab); Saran, Bhagalpur (Bihar); Goa; Hyderabad (Telangana); Ajmer, Jaipur (Rajasthan); Mallapuram (Kerala); Rajkot, Lunavada, Godhra (Gujarat); Guwahati, Dhimaji (Assam); Itanagar(Arunachal Pradesh); Agartala (Tripura); and Mandi (Himachal Pradesh).