Hyderabad Police Arrest 24 in Statewide Crackdown on Child Exploitation Material

• Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB) arrested 24 individuals on January 8, 2026, for viewing, downloading, storing, and sharing child sexual exploitative material (CSEM).
• The operation involved 18 special teams and targeted individuals aged 18-48, including a junior assistant from Nizamabad's Irrigation Department.
• Arrests were made based on 91 cyber tipline reports from the US-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), tracking IP addresses.
• Tech companies like Google and Meta collaborate with police by reporting IP addresses of users accessing child abuse material to NCMEC, which then alerts Indian authorities.
• Offenders face penalties under the POCSO Act and IT Act, with first-time possession carrying up to 3 years imprisonment; commercial use and sharing incur harsher sentences.

Why It Matters: Hyderabad Police arrested 24 individuals in a major crackdown on child sexual exploitation material online.