KOCHI: In a fresh twist to the Thrikkakara morphing case, police have invoked provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act against the two accused arrested so far — Sreehari and Sanesh — after child sexual abuse material was allegedly found during the examination of their phones.
According to a senior police officer associated with the investigation, the wider network — comprising groups running into thousands of members — came to light during the examination of the phone of Sreehari, the first to be arrested in the case. Police found several Telegram groups where morphed and obscene images were being circulated.
Further investigation revealed the existence of ‘premium’ groups in which members were allegedly admitted after making payments. Police suspect that the groups were created primarily to make financial gains by distributing images according to the interests of members.
According to police, Sanesh allegedly sent QR codes to collect payments from those seeking memberships. So far, 12 people are believed to have paid money to join the group, and the investigation is likely to extend to them as well. Members allegedly paid `250 to be added to a group. Investigators are examining whether they knowingly accessed or circulated the material.
The ‘premium’ network reportedly included groups such as ‘Mallu Premium Demo’, from which members could be shifted to smaller groups based on the type of content they sought. Groups such as ‘Premium Collection’ and ‘Mallu Rare Collection’ were used for some of these groups, according to investigators.
Addressing the media, Kochi City Police Commissioner S Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar said Pocso provisions have been invoked after similar material was allegedly found during custodial interrogation and examination of the device.
“Pocso cases have been registered against both the accused. Sreehari is currently in custody and is being questioned. We have found child pornography content in both cases as well,” the commissioner said.
“This is all evidence-based. We are examining who were the members of these groups and what exactly they have done. Legal action will be taken based on the evidence,” he added.
Police are tracing digital footprints and other evidence to identify those behind the accounts. One of the groups had around 15,000 members, while several smaller groups had allegedly been created by the same network.
Sreehari, a second-year BBA student of Bharata Mata College, Thrikkakara, was the first to be arrested. He allegedly morphed photographs of college teachers and students. The matter came to the attention of college authorities after people who saw the circulated images informed them.
A complaint was then lodged by the college authorities. Further examination of the digital evidence, however, led investigators to Sanesh and subsequently revealed the existence of the wider network. Police are now focusing on whether the images were sold or circulated systematically for monetary benefit and on identifying all those who were involved in operating and using the groups.
