Sexual abuse of minors: CBI team, AIIMS doctors reach Chitrakoot

A team of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) along with doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has reached Uttar Pradesh's Chitrakoot to conduct medical tests on over 25 children allegedly sexually exploited by an arrested junior engineer of the irrigation department, sources said on Thursday.

A CBI source connected to the probe told IANS that a team of doctors including two women doctors along with the agency sleuths have reached Chitrakoot, which is the native place of the junior engineer.

The CBI had arrested Ram Bhawan, a junior engineer, in November last year.

The source said that a five member doctors' team will conduct the medical tests of over 25 children, who are alleged to have been sexually exploited by Bhawan.

The source said that the team will stay in Chitrakoot for two days and also try to collect more evidence against Bhawan.

The development comes almost five days after Bhawan was brought to Delhi for his medical test conducted by a team of eight doctors at AIIMS.

Bhawan was arrested on the charge of sexually exploiting around 50 minors in 10 years and selling video clips and photographs of his sexual acts on the dark net to paedophiles across the globe.

The CBI had earlier said that Bhawan was sexually exploiting minors and was arrested from Banda district.

According to the CBI, the matter was brought to the notice of the agency sometime last year.

He was arrested from UP's Banda district and the CBI team during searches had recovered eight mobile phones, around Rs 8 lakh in cash, sex toys, laptop, and other digital evidence carrying huge quantity of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

A case was then registered against unidentified persons suspected of sexually abusing minors in Banda, Chitrakoot and Hamirpur districts.

The CBI in a statement had said, "It was further alleged that these photographs and video films containing child sexual abuse material were published and transmitted by the accused using the facility of internet. It was also alleged that the accused used the dark web for sale, transmission and sharing of such CSAM content with other individuals."

The CBI on December 29 last year also arrested his wife Durgawati from Banda for trying to influence and manipulate the prime witnesses in the case against her husband.