CID gets 63 cases of online child sex abuse in 3 months

The cyber crime unit of the CID was designated as the OCSAE Prevention and Investigation Unit in Karnataka in September 2019.
Image for representational purpose only
Image for representational purpose only

BENGALURU: In what can be termed as a disturbing trend; 63 cases of Online Child Sexual Abuse & Exploitation (OCSAE) were registered in Karnataka in the last quarter of 2019 soon after the cyber crime unit of the Criminal Investigation Department was designated as the nodal agency.

Investigation into these heinous crimes against children has led to the arrest of three alleged paedophiles — one each in Mangaluru, Udupi and Ballari — under the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) and Sections 66 E (Punishment for violation of privacy) and 67B (Punishment for publishing or transmitting of material depicting children in sexually explicit act, etc, in electronic form) of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000.

The cyber crime unit of the CID was designated as the OCSAE Prevention and Investigation Unit in Karnataka in September 2019. The unit received 63 OCSAE cases between October and December from the central intelligence and other investigating agencies, which get inputs from Interpol.  

According to official sources, the cyber crime division of the CID, after analysing the digital footprints of the inputs, has sent the cases to the jurisdictional district Cyber Crime, Economic Offences and Narcotics (CEN) police stations for registration of cases and investigation.

“The CEN police stations have registered OCSAE cases under POCSO and Sections 66E and 67B of the IT Act, 2000. Three suspects have been arrested and investigation in other cases is being stringently pursued,” said an officer.

He added that before commissioning of the special unit, the OCSAE cases were not being reported or registered in the state because there was no infrastructure to handle cases of this nature. “We don’t know the extent of the menace because such cases were not being reported earlier. There is no comprehensive document on online child sexual abuse cases because most often, the crime takes place behind closed doors,” he added.

The Chairman of the Child Rights Commission, Karnataka Chapter, Dr Anthony Sebastian said that cases of online sexual exploitation of children are now coming to light because of growing awareness among people and the interest taken by law enforcement agencies against such heinous crimes and the international network of paedophiles. He added that parents should discuss with their children about their online activities in a non-hostile environment.India is one of the oldest members of the International police organisation.

In November last year, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) set up an Online Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Prevention and Investigation Unit under its Special Crime Zone after seven Indian nationals were found to be involved in international child pornography in Germany. The cases are being investigated by the CBI, which receives numerous references regarding dissemination of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) from Interpol and other national and international organizations. The CBI, which is the nodal agency in India for Interpol, shares the inputs with states where the crime has taken place for investigation.
In May last year, India and the United States had signed an MoU to help India check online child pornography and content related to child sexual exploitation.

Interpol database
Interpol’s International Child Sexual Exploitation (ICSE) database has more than 1.5 million images and videos and has helped identify 19,400 victims worldwide.
The database allows specialized investigators from more than 50 countries to use it to exchange information with colleagues around the world for clues, identify any overlap in cases and combine their efforts to locate victims of child sexual abuse.

Profile of online paedophile
The abuser is  often known to the child.  Recording or photography of the abuse is evidence of a serious crime. Abusers often use the images for future sexual gratification or to be traded and shared with other abusers.(Source: Interpol website)

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