Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Racketeers are targeting children and using their photographs and uploading them on social media platforms after morphing them. The cases of child pornography are on the surge as 160 cases were recorded in 2023, which was 147 in 2022. According to the cyber police, the racketeers are not only limited to big or metro cities, but they have reached mid-sized towns.
The photos uploaded by the youths and children are picked by the racketeers, who morph the pictures and upload them on social media platforms. Talking about a case, the police said that one girl uploaded her photograph of Raksha Bandhan celebration on her social media account. The racketeers picked the photograph, morphed it and uploaded it on social media. When the family member came to know about the photograph they rushed to the police.
After that the family went through agony and was not able to meet the people for several days. They even kept their shop shut for a few days. ADG cyber crime, Yogesh Deshmukh, said that in 2022, according to the report of National Crime Record Bureau, 147 cases of child pornography were reported in the state.
The state was at second rank, while Karnataka was the first with 235 cases. Chhattisgarh was at the third position with 112 cases. He added that in 2023 till the mid December as many as 160 cases were reported across the state. "We are organising awareness workshops, seminars on the issue and also publishing pamphlets and posters regarding the awareness towards child pornography and also cyber frauds," the ADG added.
Deshmukh said that pornography creates a psychological impact on children. It is associated with depression, anger and anxiety. It can lead to mental distress. It also impacts day to day functioning of children, their biological clock, their work, and their social relationship. The parents of the children shall take initiative and tell their children about the cons of sharing their photographs on social media.
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