THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state police led by its Counter Child Sexual Exploitation team arrested 15 people who allegedly uploaded and circulated child sexual abuse materials on encrypted websites. The arrests were made during a state-wide raid conducted in 656 centres across the state.
Cyberdome nodal officer IG P Prakash said obscene images and videos of children between the age of five and 15 years were uploaded and circulated by the arrested people which includes techies. Prakash said 280 teams led by the district police chiefs took part in the operation.
A total of 67 cases were registered and 279 digital devices used for perpetrating the offences were seized from the arrested men. “Mobile phones, modems, hard disks, memory cards, laptops and desktops were seized during the raids,” he said. The police have been scrutinising dark web sites that are engaged in circulating and uploading child abuse materials.
Since mounting surveillance required cutting-edge technology, the police sought the assistance of its Cyderdome wing, international law enforcement agencies and an NGO named Bachpan Bachao Andolan.
The Interpol has been monitoring the rise in online consumption of child porn in Kerala since 2011.The police had decided to set up a special cell to monitor the online distribution of child sex abuse material after noticing that the offence was being committed repeatedly in the state.