VIJAYAWADA: The city police on Friday night arrested a 24-year-old man for allegedly purchasing child pornographic content from unidentified sources and further tried to sell it to others to make a quick buck. According to a press release issued by the Vijayawada city police commissioner Bathini Sreenivasulu, the accused was identified as Shaik Sohail Ahmed, a graduate in civil engineering, from Fakeergudem in Vijayawada city.
Sohail pursued engineering from a prestigious college in the city and worked at various organisations after graduating. CP Sreenivasulu said the accused was addicted to vices and quit his job as he believed he was not getting the expected salary. He further became addicted to watching porn on the internet.
A few months ago, he received a link on Telegram, a messaging mobile application, where the person on the other side suggested him to buy pornographic content. Sohail purchased the videos from the man who sent him a link of a website hoping it would mint money, if he sold it to others.
“When Sohail opened the link, he found more than 4,000 videos of child pornographic content. Implementing the same idea, he posted an advertisement on Telegram, other social media platforms and various groups. Noticing the advertisement, a member of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) approached Sohail in guise of a customer and paid him the money for the videos. The NCPCR representative lodged a complaint using the videos as evidence. Police then arrested Sohail with the help of his IP address and mobile phone location,” the CP explained.
The police commissioner stressed that sharing or viewing child pornographic content is a crime under the IT Act. He informed that the CBI has set up an online child sexual abuse and exploitation prevention/ investigation unit which collects data regarding the publication and transmission of information related to online child sexual abuse. “A case has been registered against him under section 67B of IT Act,” the CP added.