Operation Megh Chakra: CBI Launches Raids in Guwahati and Dhemaji

GUWAHATI: The Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) sleuths have been rummaging sites across Assam's Guwahati and Dhemaji looking for people in these two cities who have been engaging in child pornography. 

The Agency received many inputs that many from localities in Guwahati and Dhemaji have been using their electronic gadgets like laptops and mobiles to upload child pornography. CBI after getting a list of IP addresses that sources back to localities in Guwahati and Dhemaji has rushed to these sites in search of the devices that were used to upload the illegal material and the abusers who were abusing minors for such material. 

Notably, The premier investigative agency of the country has launched its "Operation Megh Chakra" across the country to mitigate crimes against children. The agency has launched operations in 59 locations in the country in 21 states where Assam is also included. 

According to CBI, the agency has registered two cases under relevant provisions of the IT Act based on information received from Crime Against Children (CAC), a unit of INTERPOL, Singapore which had received the same inputs from New Zealand police for sharing with the relevant country.

"It was alleged that a number of Indian citizens were involved in circulation, downloading, and transmission of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) using cloud-based storage. The said information received in INTERPOL from Law enforcement authorities of New Zealand was analyzed and developed by CBI, and suspected persons were identified to locate and disrupt further distribution. Today's crackdown was a follow-up of a massive operation (Operation Carbon) carried out by the CBI last year against Online Child Sexual Abuse Material, said a senior official of CBI. 

During the raids conducted by the agency, it has been successful in seizing devices like laptops and mobiles containing huge quantities of child sexual abuse material. 

It is to be noted that, India's POCSO act passed in 2012 is an act specially designed for these cases in the country. 

Also Read: Ending online child porno a huge challenge: Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi

Also Watch: