Thanjavur (Tamil Nadu): The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested an accused residing in the Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu for his alleged involvement in creating, collecting, seeking, browsing, downloading, exchanging, and distributing child sexual abuse material (CSAM), official sources said on Saturday. The accused was also charged with sexually abusing a child for four years and forcing two minor victims to perform penetrative sexual acts on them and other minors.
The CBI was able to trace the location of the incident to Thanjavur District after finding CSAM images and videos from Interpol's International Child Sexual Exploitation (ICSE) database, to which India joined last year. As part of the investigation, searches were conducted at the premises of the accused, which led to the recovery of incriminating electronic gadgets.
In 2022, during the 90th Interpol General Assembly hosted by India in New Delhi, an important resolution was passed to support countries in their efforts to identify and investigate online child sexual exploitation. The resolution recognized the protection of children as a priority for all Interpol member countries and highlighted the importance of real-time information sharing and coordinated global action to combat the menace of online child sexual exploitation. The resolution also emphasized the critical need for an effective coordinated international response to this criminal activity to ensure the protection of children worldwide.