Kochi: Ram Bhawan (50), and his wife Durgawati (47)were given capital punishment by a special POCSO court for sexually abusing 33 poor minor boys for a decade and selling their videos on the dark web in Uttar Pradesh, Times of India reported.
The court in Banda sentenced the former government engineer and wife describing the case involving victims including boys as young as three years old as “rarest of rare”
According to the prosecution, the offences took place between 2010 and 2020.
The children living in their neighbourhood were allegedly lured with money, food, mobile phones, internet access and online video games.The victims were sexually assaulted inside the accused’s residence and recorded on mobile phones and other digital devices.Investigators alleged that the material was accessed by customers in as many as 47 countries.
The case came to light after Interpol flagged child sexual abuse material circulating on the dark web that was traced back to the couple.The investigation was subsequently taken over by the Central Bureau of Investigation which registered an FIR on 31 October 2020 against Ram Bhawan, Durgawati and others unknown.
A chargesheet was filed on 10 February 2021.During the trial, the prosecution relied on multiple strands of evidence, including survivor testimonies, medical expert reports and digital evidence recovered from seized phones and storage devices.The court directed the Uttar Pradesh government to pay compensation of â‚ą10 lakh to each of the 33 victims.
Death for man, wife in POCSO case
