CBI conducts biggest crackdown against circulation of child pornography material, raids 59 locations across country

The raids, part of Operation Megha Chakra, were launched after the agency registered two cases based on inputs from the Crime Against Children unit of Interpol, based in Singapore, which had received it from the New Zealand Police New Delhi: The CBI on Saturday carried out searches at 59 locations across 21 states and a Union Territory in an internationally coordinated law-enforcement crackdown on online circulation of Child Sexual Abuse Material, with officials here saying more than 50 suspects in the country are under the scanner. The raids, part of Operation ‘Megha Chakra’, were launched after the agency registered two cases under relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act based on inputs from the Crime Against Children unit of Interpol, based in Singapore, which had received it from the New Zealand Police, the officials said. He said Operation ‘Megha Chakra’ is one of the major CBI-led global operations in recent times as a rapid response to online child sexual exploitation with international linkages and organised cyber-enabled financial crimes, where victims, accused, suspects, conspirators are located across global jurisdictions, requiring a internationally coordinated law-enforcement response. “The operation will collate information from law-enforcement agencies in India, engage with agencies globally and coordinate closely through Interpol channels to combat online child sexual exploitation and such organized cyber criminal activities,” the agency said.