Odisha: CBI team attacked in Dhenkanal district during raid to arrest child porn accused

BHUBANESWAR: A CBI team, which had gone to Dhenkanal district as part of a nationwide crackdown against those involved in online child pornography, came under attack from locals on Tuesday, with one video showing an officer being dragged by his collar and thrashed in full public view.
Trouble started when the CBI team raided the house of Surendra Nayak in Dhenkanal town on charges of promoting and circulating child pornography on social media.But claiming Nayak was innocent, his neighbours, including several women armed with sticks and wooden planks, gathered around the CBI officers.
A video showing the unruly conduct of the locals has gone viral on social media.
The video also showed some women, carrying sticks, hurling abuses at the officers and asking them to leave the area.
The CBI officers, who were caught unawares by the sudden turn of events, had to call the local Dhenkanal Town police to bail them out. The police went to the spot and placated the crowd to let the CBI officers leave, which was achieved with some difficulty.
Dhenkanal's outgoing superintendent of police (SP) K Siva Subramani confirmed the face-off between the locals and the CBI team. "Immediately after receiving an SOS from the CBI team, our personnel reached the spot and brought the situation under control. Some locals were not allowing the CBI officers to discharge their duties. The situation is under control now," said Subramani, who is set to join the CBI on central deputation.
No complaint has been lodged by the CBI with the local police till the filing of this report. "We have not received any complaint from the CBI officers so far," Subramani added.
As part of a simultaneous raid in different locations across 14 states, the CBI conducted searches in the homes of three accused, one each in Dhenkanal, Bhadrak and Angul districts. According to the CBI, the accused allegedly uploaded obscene videos, involving children, on WhatsApp groups. No arrest has been made till the evening.
Cybercrime, especially child pornography, has increased alarmingly in Odisha. The state did not report a single such case against children in 2017. A year later seven cases (all related to child pornography) were registered and five - including two related to child pornography - were reported in 2019. But last year, the number ballooned to 71 cases and all were related to child pornography, stated the latest NCRB report.