Court remands nine more accused to judicial custody
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, October 16 2026: The Special Judge (POCSO), Bishnupur, today remanded nine more accused persons into judicial custody till October 28 in connection with a case involving the alleged possession, circulation, forwarding and hosting of non-consensual intimate videos and photographs of Manipuri women, as well as child sexual abuse material (CSAM), through Telegram channels and WhatsApp groups.

The accused persons, identified as Sagolsem Saphaba (19) of Imphal West, Thongam Cavendish @ Ingocha (21) of Kakching, Haobijam Rojit (19) of Bishnupur, Moirangthem Clinton (28) of Bishnupur, Samom Simpson (34) of Imphal West, Aheibam Aria (24) of Bishnupur, Sorokhaibam Alexander (31) of Kakching, Keithellakpam Rakesh @ Abosana (18) of Imphal West and Chungkham Robert (27) of Imphal West, were produced before the Court by a team of Moirang police.

The Special Public Prosecutor (PP) for the State submitted that, during the first week of October, reliable sources provided information that certain administrators, creators and active users of multiple Telegram channels and groups were allegedly involved in the unlawful circulation, trading and publication of sexually explicit content, including intimate videos and photographs of women from Manipur.

The prosecution further submitted that the materials were allegedly distributed and monetised without the knowledge or consent of the victims.

During the investigation and interrogation, the alleged involvement of the accused persons in operating and participating in various online channels and groups came to light, the prosecution submitted.

According to the prosecution, the Telegram channels and groups had memberships running into thousands, while the collections allegedly generated through the activities exceeded Rs 2.10 lakh.

The prosecution sought judicial custody of the accused persons, citing the need for an unhindered and fair investigation.

After hearing the Special PP and examining the case records, the Court remanded all nine accused persons into judicial custody till October 28 to facilitate further investigation.

It may be mentioned that three other accused in the case, identified as Ningthoujam Rajesh alias Maipakchao (21) of Bishnupur, Haobijam Dhanajit alias Taison of Bishnupur and Khundrakpam Bipin (31) of Thoubal, were remanded into judicial custody by the same Court on October 14 till October 28 .

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