In its biggest crackdown on child pornography, the CBI on Saturday carried out searches at 59 locations in 21 States and Union Territories in connection with two cases of circulation of online child sexual abuse material (OCSAM). The raids were part of the operation “Megha Chakra”.

Dubbing “Megha Chakra” a painstaking and meticulous operation, the agency said it conducted nationwide searches at around 59 locations, including Faridabad and Fatehabad (Haryana); Dehradun (Uttarakhand); Kachh, Lunavada, Rajkot and Godhra (Gujarat); Maharajgan, Hathras and Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh); Bardhman and Murshidabad (West Bengal); Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Thane, Nanded, Solapur, Kolahpur and Nagpur (Maharashtra); Dhanbad and Ranchi (Jharkhand); Chittoor and Krishna (Andhra Pradesh); Bengaluru, Kodagu, Ram Nagar and Kolar (Karnataka); Raipur (Chhattisgarh), and New Delhi, the CBI said in a statement.

Likewise, the CBI also conducted the searches at Chelakkara and Mallapuram (Kerala); Dindigul (Madurai); Gurdaspur and Hosiarpur (Punjab); Chennai; Goa; Hyderabad; Ajmer and Jaipur (Rajasthan); Cuddalore (Tamil Nadu); Guwahati, Dhimaji (Assam); Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh); Saran and Bhagalpur (Bihar); Agartala (Tripura); and Mandi (Himachal Pradesh) in two cases related to downloading/circulation of child sexual abuse material (CSAM)

The CBI has registered two cases under relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act based on information received from the Crime Against Children (CAC) unit of Interpol, Singapore, which had received the same from New Zealand police for sharing with the relevant country, the CBI said.

“It was alleged that a number of Indian citizens were involved in circulation/downloading/transmission of child sexual abuse material using cloud-based storage.

The said information received by Interpol from law enforcement authorities of New Zealand was analysed and developed by the CBI, and suspected persons were identified to locate and disrupt further distribution,” it said.

The crackdown was a follow up of massive operation (Operation Carbon) carried out by the CBI last year against online child sexual abuse material. During the searches, electronic devices, including mobiles, laptops belonging to more than 50 suspects have been recovered. Preliminary scrutiny of these electronic devices using cyber forensic tools has revealed the presence of huge quantity of child sexual abuse material in a number of electronic devices, it said.

The suspects are being questioned with regard to the child sexual abuse material found in their electronic devices so as to identify the child victims and the abusers.

“Operation Chakra is one of the CBI-led global operations in recent times for rapid response to online child sexual exploitation cases with international linkages and organised cyber enabled financial crimes with victims, accused, suspects, conspirators located across international jurisdictions, requiring a globally coordinated law enforcement response. Operation Chakra seeks to collate information from various law enforcement agencies within India, engage with relevant law enforcement agencies globally and coordinate closely through Interpol channels to combat online child sexual exploitation and such organized cyber criminal activities,” it said.

Coordination meetings were organised with Interpol and foreign law enforcement agencies for sharing critical information to dismantle such cybercrime networks. Investigation is continuing, it added.