Meerut man auctions obscene videos on Telegram; police launch manhunt
Police officials said that the case began unravelling when Dehradun Police discovered links to obscene content on a cyber portal in September 2025.
A multi-state police investigation has exposed an alleged online marketplace for child sexual abuse material, with a Meerut resident at the centre of accusations involving the auctioning of obscene videos of minor girls through a Telegram channel dubbed “Lucifer.”
Amit Jain, a resident of Bagpat Gate in Meerut, is accused of operating a sophisticated digital storefront where thumbnails of illegal videos were displayed like products in a catalogue.
Buyers would browse the content, negotiate prices, and complete auctioned deals, with some videos allegedly fetching lakhs of rupees, according to police.
Circle officer (CO) Brahmpuri, Soumya Asthana, said that the case began unravelling when Dehradun Police discovered links to obscene content on a cyber portal in September 2025. Their digital trail led to Jain, prompting the Brahmpuri police station in Meerut to register an FIR and launch a manhunt. The accused has since gone underground, switching off his mobile phone to evade capture.
CO Brahmpuri revealed that the investigation, conducted jointly with cyber teams, uncovered evidence of multiple transactions. “The accused claimed these were original videos and conducted several deals through the account,” she said. Chat logs recovered from the Telegram channel show detailed negotiations between Jain and buyers over pricing.
The criminal network appears to span state boundaries. Tamil Nadu Police traced approximately ₹20,000 deposited into Jain’s bank account about a month ago, payment for videos sold in that state. Authorities there have frozen the account and are pursuing leads on Jain’s associates.
Investigators suspect Jain didn’t operate alone. Preliminary findings point to other individuals involved in managing his social media accounts and facilitating the trade. Police teams from U.P’s Meerut, Uttarakhand’s Dehradun, and Tamil Nadu are now coordinating efforts to identify and apprehend the entire network.
Superintendent of police (SP) City Ayush Vikram Singh confirmed that local cyber units have been ordered to conduct an exhaustive investigation. “We are closely monitoring social media accounts linked to Amit Jain and maintaining surveillance on similar accounts to prevent such crimes,” he said.
The Telegram channel has been suspended, but the investigation continues as police work to dismantle what appears to be an organised operation exploiting minors for profit.
