In one of the most shocking cases of digital crimes and systemic malfeasance, the Bengaluru Cyber Command Centre (CCC) exposed an exploitation racket where two orphaned girls, aged 11 and 12 were sexually assaulted. The case emerged after a number of explicit videos of the girls were found circulating online for money and this triggered an alert from the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP).
Who are the accused arrested in the case?
Police have arrested two accused Kiran Kumar Nayak (29), a cattle-grazer from Kaidallipalya, and Aditya M K (20), a swimming pool maintenance man from Channapatna. Police have accused both of direct involvement in sexually assaulting two minors and recording to share on social media for money.
The two girls lost their mother more than a year ago and their alcoholic father two years ago. Afterwards, they were sent to live with their uncle. Instead of protecting, the uncle facilitated the exchange and even took money from the accused. Police have arrested him as the uncle is missing and a manhunt is in progress.
What did police recover in the investigation?
The case came to notice as cyber surveillance of an account that was found sharing pornography flagged suspicious uploads to child sexual abuse material. The bureau swiftly tracked the digital footprints and recovered three phones with content involving the minors. Girls took statements under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and officials have now also been looking into the wider distribution of the videos.
How did cyber surveillance crack the case?
The case came in after cyber experts at the CCC confirmed that automated alerts from the NCRP had flagged illegal content being uploaded online. That prompted swift responses from cyber teams and local police, cutting off the distribution of the videos and identifying the people behind the racket.
The case reveals major failures in child protection, activists and child welfare experts say. Even after signs of abuse surfaced, the exploitation reportedly went on for more than a year before the web offenders were identified, casting doubts on mechanisms for child welfare and community monitoring.
How safe is Bengaluru for women and children?
Bengaluru third among 19 metros in crimes against women, NCRB report says. In the 2024 NCRB report released in 2026, Bengaluru ranked third among 19 metropolitan cities in crimes against women, with 4,748 cases documented in 2024. Bengaluru also had 168 cases of rape and 897 cases of assault to outrage modesty, raising safety concerns despite its image as a booming tech city.
The increase in crimes against women and children in Bengaluru, a city dubbed the “Silicon Valley” of India, has brought into focus how the city differs from the idealised vision. The city continues to struggle with high rates of sexual assault, domestic violence and other exploitation cases. Reforms in policing, cyber surveillance and child protection are needed to curb such atrocities in the state.
