Prayagraj, Dec 19 (IANS) A Special Court here on Friday sentenced an Uttar Pradesh man to six years’ imprisonment, along with a fine of Rs 55,000, in a case of child sexual abuse and online circulation and possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), an official said.

The Special Court convicted and sentenced Mohammad Zaki to imprisonment under the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 and Information Technology Act, 2000.

The Special Court also awarded compensation of Rs 115,000 to the victim.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered the instant case on December 27, 2021, based on an Interpol reference from Canada’s National Central Bureau.

The complaint said that an Indian social media user was suspected of sharing child sexual abuse material on another platform.

“During the investigation, which included analysis of data of electronic devices recovered from the possession of the accused, it was found that the accused was involved in the sexual abuse of minor girls. It was also revealed that he was sharing photographs and videos of sexual exploitation of the victims on social media platforms,” said the CBI.

After the investigation, the probe agency filed a chargesheet on December 31, 2022.

It was alleged that Zaki had sexually exploited four minor girls, and he was involved in acts of aggravated sexual abuse.

Under Section 14 of the POCSO Act, 2012, whoever uses a child or children for pornographic purposes shall be punished with imprisonment of either description, which may extend to five years and shall be liable to fine.

Further under Section 15, any person who stores, for commercial purposes, any pornographic material in any form involving a child shall be punished with imprisonment of either description, which may extend to three years or with a fine or with both.

The Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000, has adequate provisions to deal with prevailing cybercrimes. Section 67B of the Act specifically provides stringent punishment for publishing, browsing or transmitting child pornography in electronic form.

Section 79 of the IT Act and The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules 2011 require that the intermediaries shall observe due diligence while discharging their duties and shall inform users of computer resources to act accordingly.

–IANS

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