The Central district police have arrested 10 persons and registered 10 FIRs over the past five days for allegedly transmitting, downloading, storing and circulating child sexual exploitative and abuse material (CSEAM), officials said on Sunday.
The cases were registered under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Information Technology Act following a district-wide operation conducted between July 13 and July 18.
According to the police, the operation was launched after investigators analysed digital indicators and received international cyber tip-offs from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), a U.S.-based organisation that runs CyberTipline, a centralised reporting system designated by the U.S. government to process complaints of online child sexual exploitation.
“CyberTipline provided technical inputs pointing to suspected online activity involving child sexual abuse material. These leads were subjected to technical verification, which confirmed the transmission of prohibited content and led to the registration of criminal cases,” said Rohit Rajbir Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central).
Dedicated teams were formed across all police stations in the district to simultaneously target multiple suspects. Based on technical intelligence, digital scrutiny and electronic tracing, coordinated searches were conducted at various locations, leading to the identification and arrest of the accused.
The police said the accused used social media platforms, cloud storage services and applications on Android and iOS devices to transmit and share the material.
“As of now, there is no evidence to suggest that the accused were part of an organised syndicate. Each FIR is being investigated independently,” the officer said.
The FIRs were registered at police stations including I.P. Estate, Paharganj, Jama Masjid, Kamla Market, Patel Nagar and Chandni Mahal. Multiple cases were lodged at I.P. Estate, Paharganj and Chandni Mahal police stations.
All 10 accused, aged between 25 and 30, are residents of Delhi. “They were both consumers and transmitters of child sexual exploitation material, uploading such content on social media, cloud platforms and other applications,” the officer said.
The identities of the accused have not been disclosed as the investigation is under way.
During the operation, the police seized mobile phones and other digital devices suspected to have been used in the offences. “All seized electronic devices have been secured and sent for forensic examination,” Mr. Singh said.
Investigators are carrying out a detailed forensic analysis of the devices and examining additional digital footprints to identify others who may be involved in the circulation of such material. Further arrests are likely, the police said.
Published – July 20, 2026 01:03 am IST
