The Hyderabad City Cyber Crime Unit has successfully apprehended three individuals involved in the distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) across social media platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat.
The arrests were made following cases registered through the Cyber Tipline, based on inputs received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which is dedicated to addressing crimes against children.
“The investigation began with a detailed verification process that included tracking IP addresses, mobile numbers, and email IDs, which led to the identification of the accused. The case files, along with the gathered evidence, have been forwarded to the NCMEC ID of the Cyber Crime Unit for further legal proceedings,” said DCP of Cyber Crimes Hyderabad Dara Kavitha.
The team is continuing to corroborate the leads provided by the Cyber Tipline to identify others involved in the creation, sharing, or circulation of CSAM, she added.
Explaining the three cases, the DCP said that in the first one, a 35-year-old private employee from Medak was caught downloading child pornography from various websites. He viewed it, and shared it with friends on Instagram. In the second case, a 36-year-old welder from Hyderabad has downloaded it and shared it with friends on Snapchat. In the third case, a 22-year-old student was also found to have downloaded and shared similar content via Instagram.
The Hyderabad City Cyber Crime Unit has urged the public to stay vigilant and report any suspicious activity related to child exploitation and warned that individuals found sharing sensitive or inappropriate content may face serious legal action.
Published – January 20, 2025 09:05 pm IST
