A Dhaka court has directed authorities to identify and take legal action against online groups, administrators, and fraudulent networks involved in circulating pornographic content and conducting illegal financial transactions through social media platforms.
Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Zakir Hossain issued the order suo motu (on his own motion) after taking cognizance of a media report titled “Thousands of young women’s nude videos sold on Telegram,” published on October 18. The report has since been widely shared and discussed across multiple news portals and social media platforms.
Citing the report’s serious public implications, the court invoked Section 190(1)(c) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and accepted the matter for judicial consideration.
In his order, Magistrate Hossain directed the Deputy Commissioner of the Cyber and Special Crime Division under the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) to appoint a qualified and experienced investigation officer. The officer has been tasked with identifying the online pornography networks, their administrators, and any linked financial fraud activities, and to take legal action accordingly.
The court further instructed that regular criminal cases be filed based on the investigation’s findings and that the investigating officer submit progress reports every 15 days.
The move follows growing public outrage over online sexual exploitation and illegal data trafficking on encrypted messaging platforms such as Telegram.
