THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state cyber investigation wing has generated reports of up to 600 people from the state every three months for alleged involvement in downloading and sharing videos containing child sexual abuse content. The reports are generated on the basis of the investigation done by the Countering Child Sexual Exploitation Team (CCSE) unit. The CCSE comes under the newly formed Cyber Investigation unit that collects information using its own software and other open-source tools.
The unit also receives information from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), which has access to the tipline reports available with the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), USA. It was based on the tipline reports as well as the data collected by the cyber investigation unit that the state police on Saturday arrested 10 people involved in downloading and dissemination child abuse content.
The operation was a continuation of the P-Hunt that was launched to crackdown on child pornography. The police registered 46 cases and seized 123 electronic devices that allegedly contained abuse content. Saturday’s operation assumes significance as it is the first major drive launched by the CCSE unit since the formation of the cyber investigation unit.
The raids culminated in the arrest of four persons from Malappuram, two each from Idukki and Kochi city, and one each from Alappuzha and Ernakulam rural. The sources said the arrested had either downloaded child abuse material online or circulated it on social media platforms. Most of the suspects used the Telegram app, while a few others used WhatsApp to share the malicious content.
“The details of the suspects were given to the district police, who mounted raids,” said a senior officer. “Though only 10 people have been arrested so far, the number will increase when the forensic examination of the seized devices is completed. It will take up to three months to get all the forensic reports. Those who were arrested were found to be possessing child abuse material.
But many had deleted the content after watching/sharing. The forensic examination of the gadgets will provide us with digital evidence of their involvement in the offence and they would be arrested after that. Taking into account the time period, we have been launching P-Hunt operations every three months,” the officer added. The police have registered about 1,500 cases against child porn users since 2017.
10 arrested, 46 cases registered
The state police on Saturday arrested 10 people involved in downloading and dissemination child abuse content. The operation was a continuation of the P-Hunt that was launched to crackdown on child pornography. The police registered 46 cases and seized 123 electronic devices that allegedly contained abuse content