Sick couple get death sentence after ‘alluring’ children into sex abuse video ring

Ram Bhawan, 50, and wife Durgavati, 47, were convicted of sexually abusing 33 boys in Uttar Pradesh, India, over a decade and selling footage to buyers in 47 countries

In a shocking criminal case that has sent shockwaves across India, a married couple in Uttar Pradesh has received the death penalty after being found guilty of sexually abusing 33 minors spanning a decade. The victims, all male children under 18, included some as young as three, and the duo profited substantially by distributing images and footage of the abuse to purchasers in 47 nations via the dark web.

For a full decade, Ram Bhawan, 50, operated his child exploitation ring from a leased property in Chitrakoot, all whilst maintaining his position as a junior engineer in the state's irrigation department. His spouse, Durgavati, 47, reportedly aided him and even intimidated the victims' families to maintain their silence or reach settlements.

The couple produced 2 lakh (200,000) videos featuring numerous victims, prosecutors revealed during their trial, which wrapped up this week. A specialized court operating under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in Banda, Uttar Pradesh, handed down the death sentence to both defendants on Friday (February 20).

"Ram Bhawan used to apply different forms of modus operandi on children, including access to online video games and giving money or gifts to allure them," a CBI spokesperson said, according to Hindustan Times.

The victims were young boys from Banda and Chitrakoot districts and neighboring regions, lured in by what seemed like innocent gestures of kindness before suffering abuse and being recorded. Ram also enticed them with "mobile phones, chocolates, and watches", prosecutors stated, reports the Express.

Using photos and videos, he then blackmailed them for numerous years, according to special public prosecutor Saurabh Singh. The duo operated in the Banda-Chitrakoot region from 2010 through 2020.

The CBI received support from Interpol, the international police organization, which traced three phone numbers connected to pornographic material sales on the dark web.

"During the investigation of the case, it surfaced that the accused persons had committed various forms of perversity, including aggravated penetrative sexual assaults against 33 male children, some of them as young as three years of age," a CBI official said. The pair subjected survivors to such severe physical and mental abuse that several needed hospital treatment for injuries to their private areas, and some developed vision problems the-mirror-icon_news_weird-news_sex-crime.

"Victims are still suffering from psychological trauma caused by the predators," the officer added.

The CBI determined that Ram created an organized digital network to distribute his recordings. Investigators were tracking child sexual abuse material online when they discovered content tied to the pair.

The couple distributed videos and images of the victims to approximately 47 nations through the internet, the prosecution said. A USB drive seized during the probe held 34 explicit videos and 679 images.

The pair had utilized numerous phone numbers and email accounts to upload, distribute, and monetize content across social media networks, websites, and the dark web.

In its 163-page ruling, the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Pradeep Kumar Mishra invoked the "rarest of rare" doctrine, which permits the death penalty to be handed down in exceptionally heinous criminal cases in India.

"The sheer scale of this victimisation across multiple districts, combined with the extreme moral turpitude of the convicts, marks this as a crime of such an exceptional and heinous nature that it leaves no room for reformation, necessitating the ultimate judicial deterrent to meet the ends of justice," the court held.

The UP government has been ordered to provide 10 lakh (£8,177) in compensation to each of the 33 victims. The money confiscated from the couple's residence is to be split evenly among the victims.