New Delhi: Manipur Police have held 13 individuals, including college students, dropouts and a minor, who allegedly operated social media groups charging monthly subscriptions of Rs 150 to 500 distributing sexually explicit content of Manipuri women and child sexual abuse material.
Police’s investigation found administrators of the groups used “teaser previews on public channels” to lure subscribers to these “exclusive groups”.
A senior police officer from Bishnupur district told ThePrint that on receiving credible information that administrators and users across “multiple Telegram channels and WhatsApp groups were circulating, trading and monetising non-consensual explicit videos and photographs of local Manipuri women, including distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM).”
According to the police, the accused ran a coordinated group across digital platforms. During the raids, the police seized 14 mobile phones and a laptop used to create, store, and transmit the illicit material.
The officer said most of those held are college students, and others are dropouts. Those accused have been identified as N. Rajesh Singh alias Maipakchao, 21; H. Dhanajit Singh alias Taison, 19; H. Rojit Singh, 19; M. Clinton Singh 28; A. Aria Singh, 24 (all residents of Bishnupur); S. S. Simpson Singh, 34; Saphaba Singh, 19; K. Rakesh Singh, 18; Robert Singh, 27 (all residents of Imphal West); Cavendish Singh alias Ingocha, 21; S. Alexander Singh, 31 (both residents of Kakching); Bipin Singh, 31, a resident of Thoubal, along with a juvenile.
Manipur Police have registered an FIR at Moirang police station under sections of IT Act, POCSO Act, and under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and launched an investigation codenamed Operation Dignity.
“We are also investigating the wider network, financial trails and additional victims, who have been associated with the case,” the officer told ThePrint.
“These were exclusive groups, and one couldn’t access the photos and videos directly. Members were invited through known contacts. The memberships had different costs for yearly memberships. They were also renewing memberships of existing members,” said the officer quoted first.
He added that most of the content—both videos and photos—was of local women of Manipur, but they were also trading videos and images of women from other states as well by downloading them from the internet. “We also found some videos were recorded by them,” said the officer.
The officer said they have so far identified over 150 channels and groups; and have managed to get 38 neutralised.
The officer said the police are assisting with rapid content removal, via StopNCII and platform takedowns, and are also providing legal aid and counselling. “Undercover officers are inside private groups; UPI, bank, and IMEI trails are fully logged,” he added.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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