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Telangana Cyber Unit Arrests 15 in Statewide Crackdown on Child Sexual Abuse Material

The bureau is tracing the material’s origin, identifying victims, targeting platforms that failed to block the content

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A man is seen secretly photographing a woman through a barred window using his smartphone. The woman, unaware and with her back turned, is indoors, while the man is outside focusing his phone camera on her. The image highlights an act of voyeurism or harassment, and includes a watermark from The News Minute in the top right corner.
An IIT graduate was among 15 people arrested in a case of child sexual exploitation (Representational image)
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Overview

  • The Child Protection Unit apprehended 15 repeat offenders on June 18 in coordinated raids across Hyderabad, Yadadri, Karimnagar, Warangal, Jagtial and Jagadgirigutta linked to 57 cyber tipline complaints.
  • Arrested suspects are educated men aged 19 to 50 from middle-class backgrounds who stored and circulated videos and images involving girls aged 6 to 14, most of whom appear to be foreign nationals.
  • Investigators registered 34 FIRs under the IT Act and the POCSO Act and blocked nearly 220 websites hosting illicit material as part of the operation.
  • Since its February launch, the CPU has filed 294 FIRs and detained 110 individuals, a sharp increase from 37 FIRs and 34 arrests in the previous two years.
  • Authorities are probing whether the accused created or merely distributed the content and plan to sanction social media platforms that failed to curb its circulation.