Eight journalists including Deepak Chaurasia, Chitra Tripathi charged under POCSO Act; Here's why
In a significant development last week, a special court in Gurugram, Haryana, took a crucial step by formally levying charges against eight journalists, including prominent anchors Deepak Chaurasia, Chitra Tripathi, and Ajit Anjum. The allegations pertain to the purported broadcasting of manipulated, edited, and inappropriate videos involving a 10-year-old girl and her family. These videos were reportedly linked to a case involving the self-proclaimed spiritual leader Asaram Bapu, who is facing accusations of sexual assault.
The group of media professionals facing charges consists of Ajit Anjum, anchor Md Sohail, and reporter Sunil Dutt, all associated with News24. Additionally, editor-in-chief Chaurasia, anchors Tripathi and Rashid Hashmi, Jodhpur-based reporter Lalit Singh Badgurjar, and producer Abhinav Raj, affiliated with India News, are among those charged. The charges brought against them encompass several legal provisions, including sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Information Technology (IT) Act, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The charges encompass criminal conspiracy (Section 120B IPC), forgery (Sections 469 and 471 IPC), online abuse of children (Section 67B IT Act), publication or transmission of explicit content (Section 67 IT Act), disclosure of a child's identity by the media (Section 23 POCSO Act), and indecent or obscene representation of a child (Section 13C POCSO Act). The accused are alleged to have conspired to create and disseminate a manipulated video involving a minor girl and her family, which was subsequently broadcast on news channels. This act is said to have caused harm to the reputation of the victim and her family.
Moreover, the accused have been charged with forging and editing electronic records (the video clip) with the intent to tarnish the reputation of the victim and her family. They are also accused of knowingly telecasting the altered video on their respective news channels, portraying the minor girl in an inappropriate and obscene manner.
Of particular note is the charge related to Section 23 of the POCSO Act. The court's order references an incident on July 2, 2013, when religious leader Asharam Bapu visited the complainant's house. The visit was recorded on a mobile camera by an assistant or close aide of Asharam Bapu. The video was subsequently aired on both News24 and India News without complete and accurate information, potentially damaging the victim's reputation, invading her privacy, and disclosing her identity. The video depicted an inappropriate physical contact between Asharam Bapu and the minor girl. The accused, by allegedly tampering with and distorting the electronic record (video), violated Section 23 of the POCSO Act in conjunction with Section 120-B of the IPC.
During the proceedings, the accused pleaded not guilty to the charges and opted for a trial. The next phase of the case is scheduled for September 25, 2023, when the prosecution's evidence will be presented.
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Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
