The reports contain IP addresses, locations from where pornographic materials are accessed: Police (File)
The Maharashtra police have arrested 105 persons and registered 213 cases in connection with creation and circulation of child pornography on the internet in the last 18 months, a senior police official said on Friday.
The cases were registered based on the "tipline reports" shared by the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) in the last 18 months, said Sanjay Shintre, senir police official (SP) Maharashtra Cyber.
The "tipline reports" of child pornography are generated by the US-based National Centre of Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) after monitoring websites, search engines and social media platforms.
The NCMEC with the help of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) regularly shares the reports with the NCRB of India, which shares it with the cyber police of all states, it was stated.
The reports contain IP addresses and locations from where pornographic materials are accessed, and on the basis of this, cyber police then trace the accused.
According to the police, Maharashtra Cyber started Operation Blackface in 2019-20 to crackdown on child pornography in the state. Of 11,122 "tipline reports", the highest 5,699 reports were sent to Pune, followed by 4,496 to Mumbai, 364 to Thane, 302 to Nagpur, 90 to Aurangabad and so on, it was stated.
In Maharashtra, the Nagpur police have registered 38 offences, which is the highest, on the basis of these reports, the official said.
Under Operation Blackface, the Maharashtra Cyber has been identifying the districts from where child pornography-related content is being transmitted.
At least 213 offences have been registered in the last 18 months and 105 persons have been arrested under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Indian Penal Code and Information Technology (IT) Act, it was stated.