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2mo ago

CBI Arrests Haryana Man in Long-Running Child Sexual Exploitation Case

Detection of illicit images in Interpol’s child exploitation database guided the CBI to Somnath’s Hisar shop; subsequent searches yielded electronic devices and spurred victim statements to the Child Welfare Committee

The official claimed that the girls revealed that the accused sexually assaulted the them and uploaded videos of the act online. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
The CBI said it detected the child sexual abuse on its own. (X)
CBI arrested Somnath from his residence in Hisar and recovered incriminating gadgets on Tuesday (HT PHOTO)
The activities of the accused, identified as 40-year-old Somnath, were detected through an Interpol database. (HT File)

Overview

  • The CBI registered a suo motu case on May 29 after identifying child sexual abuse material linked to a Haryana suspect in Interpol’s ICSE database and Google’s Cyber Tipline reports.
  • On June 3, agents searched Somnath’s Common Service Centre in Hisar and seized electronic devices containing evidence of rape, sexual assault, threats and blackmail of multiple minor girls.
  • Officials say the 40-year-old suspect, who is physically disabled, lured children with food, recorded abuse videos for extortion and circulated the material online without any prior complaint from families.
  • Operation Hawk, launched by the CBI in March, has combined cyber forensic tools and international cooperation to trace digital evidence and target online child exploitation networks.
  • Two victims have now given statements to the Hisar Child Welfare Committee while investigators continue probing for additional children and possible accomplices.