The Hyderabad Cybercrime Unit arrested three persons in connection with cases involving circulation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) on social media platforms, including Instagram and Snapchat. The arrests were made following inputs received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) portal, which specialises in addressing crimes against children.
Preliminary investigations were carried out based on leads such as IP addresses, mobile phone numbers, and email IDs, which helped trace the accused to various locations within the city.
The Cyber Tip line reports provided evidence and leads that are currently being verified to further identify persons involved in the creation, sharing or circulation of CSAM.
A 25-year-old private employee and another 26-year-old from Hyderabad were arrested for allegedly downloading and sharing child pornography through a fake Snapchat account. While a 32-year-old private employee arrested in the third case posted it on his Instagram account. Further investigation into these cases are underway.
Th police advised people the public to refrain from sharing sensitive content, as even unintentional distribution can result in severe legal consequences. Parents have been urged to monitor their children’s online activities closely, educate them on safe internet usage, and implement privacy settings and parental controls where necessary.
The police have also encouraged citizens to use NCMEC for reporting incidents related to online child exploitation.
Published - January 24, 2025 12:53 am IST
