CBI arrests J&K man over child sexual abuse racket

The agency said that there were allegations that the accused Niyaz Ahmad Mir uploaded pornographic videos and images over the dark web for financial gains and was also involved in direct communication with many minors in the USA.

The Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) has arrested a 35-year-old resident of Srinagar for allegedly running an online child sexual abuse racket to target minors living in the US, the agency said on Tuesday.

The accused has been booked under section 67 B of IT Act and Sec. 14 of Pocso Act, 2012. The agency said that there were allegations that the accused Niyaz Ahmad Mir uploaded pornographic videos and images over the dark web for financial gains and was also involved in direct communication with many minors in the USA.

“His wife [Tamara Stanley] was living in Washington, USA. The accused was allegedly operating through his wife. She allegedly exploited multiple minors, recorded these abuses and electronically sent the same to him,” the agency said.

Stanley was arrested by US authorities on June 25 this year for child pornography, according to a statement issued by US Justice department on June 29, reviewed by HT.

It was also alleged that when the victims refused to follow his diktat, he allegedly shared these videos and images with their family members. The CBI conducted searches at the premises of the accused in Srinagar. “The searches led to recovery of incriminating digital evidence including three laptops, five mobiles, pen drives, hand written notes etc,” it said.

The accused was produced before the Competent Court at Srinagar on Tuesday, it said.

The CBI said it regularly coordinates with international law enforcement agencies to detect and probe sexual abuse of minors, especially over the cyber space and also reaffirms its commitment towards promoting cooperation with US Law Enforcement Agencies in combating child sexual abuse in cyber space.