Suryaa News Desk: A Visakhapatnam court has sentenced an individual to three years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 for uploading child sexual abuse material to his Instagram account. The verdict was delivered by Visakhapatnam Principal District Judge M. Pradeep Kumar on November 3.
The case originated from an international information system tracking child sexual exploitation. Information regarding the circulation of such content on social media was reported by a national organization to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, which subsequently directed the details to the state Criminal Investigation Department and the Visakhapatnam City Police.
Following an investigation, the Cyber Crime Police registered a case on March 28, 2022. Technical analysis identified the accused as Pentakota Harshavardhan, a resident of Visakhapatnam district. The investigation revealed that the accused had downloaded child sexual abuse material onto his mobile phone and circulated it via his social media account.
During the trial, the police presented evidence to the court. Upon the charges being proven, the judge handed down the three-year prison sentence and the fine. City Police Commissioner Dr. Shankhabrata Bagchi stated that strict action will be taken against those involved in creating, storing, transmitting, or circulating child sexual abuse material on social media.