The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested a man from Hisar in Haryana on Tuesday for allegedly raping children and creating, uploading, browsing, collecting, and exchanging child sexual abuse material online, the Times of India reported.
The accused, Somnath, 40, has been unable to walk since birth and is unmarried. A police officer told TOI that the CBI team took action on Tuesday, and the agency later confirmed the arrest in a press statement. However, officials have not shared how many children were affected or what exact charges Somnath faces.
According to CBI, Somnath had a disturbing interest in child exploitation, actively searching for and collecting abusive material online. He allegedly created his own videos and photos, shared them with friends, and uploaded them to the internet.
The investigation started after a case was filed against Somnath on May 29. The CBI questioned survivors and their families, asking them to keep the investigation secret to avoid warning the suspect. The CBI used the International Child Sexual Exploitation (ICSE) database from Interpol to trace images and videos of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), which were also linked to reports from Google's cyber tipline. After a detailed examination of the evidence with cyber forensic tools, investigators confirmed that pornographic content was produced in Hansi, revealing multiple instances of sexual abuse against minors.
On Tuesday, the CBI searched Somnath’s home and found a lot of digital evidence, including clear photos and videos. The survivors were identified as girls who had recently been harmed by Somnath.
People in the village said Somnath was well-known and ran a Common Service Centre (CSC), meant to help people access important government services like health, education, and financial help. However, Somnath allegedly used the centre to lure children, offering them treats, then committed crimes inside the shop, recorded the acts, and used the recordings to threaten the victims.
“His both sisters were living in an orphanage and are now married. He did not get married as he was physically disabled since his birth. He used to blackmail the girls by making their porn videos and used to exploit them by threatening to make the video viral. After recording videos, he saved the videos in his mail and some of the videos were sold to some porn sites,” Hindustan Times quoted a senior police official from Hansi as saying.
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