CBI searched the homes of the five group admins of a WhatsApp group circulating child porn
Highlights
- WhatsApp group 'Kids XXX' had members from 10 countries other than India
- CBI has conducted searches at the homes of the five group admins in India
- Identity of the victims and their nationalities are yet to be ascertained
A child porn racket being run on a WhatsApp group that had members from 10 countries other than India has been busted today by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). This is the first child porn case involving circulation of videos that the agency is probing.
Of the 119 members of the WhatsApp group that was named 'Kids XXX', some are from US, China, New Zealand, Mexico, Brazil, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kenya, Nigeria and Sri Lanka.
A case has been registered against group members for uploading and sharing child porn videos and photographs under Section 67B of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Five group administrators from India are under investigation. The numbers of the foreign nationals on the group will be shared with the respective countries as it's a global crime, CBI sources said.
The agency has conducted searches at the homes of the five group admins --in Delhi, Noida and Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh and Mumbai -- and seized tablets, laptops, and mobile phones containing incriminating evidence. A 20-year-old graduate called Nikhil Verma was arrested today in Kannauj. He will be brought to the agency's headquarters in Delhi for questioning, sources said.
The WhatsApp group was created nearly two years ago, CBI sources said, adding that the source of the videos circulated was being probed. It's not yet clear if the group members shot those videos or just circulated them.
The identity of the victims is under investigation as well. It is yet to be ascertained if the victims are Indian or of other nationalities as well.