PRAYAGRAJ: Uttar Pradesh Police registered a case against social media accounts for obscenely filming videos of women bathing in the holy river in Maha Kumbh. A case has been filed against 140 social media accounts, including accounts that spread false content. Uttar Pradesh Police informed that 13 FIRs have been registered in this regard.

Police are constantly monitoring social media accounts to see if any such lewd videos or photos from Kumbh are doing the rounds. The new initiative from the police comes after many complaints reached the station regarding crude photos and videos of women taking holy dip in Prayagraj circulating widely on social media.

Uttar Pradesh Police Chief Prashant Kumar said that strict action will be taken against those who are spreading such lewd videos online. There are also reports of people filming such scenes from Prayag and later selling them online to possible buyers.

In 2019, the Allahabad High Court banned the publication of photos and videos of women at the Kumbh Mela. The court ruled that women should not share pictures of themselves taking a bath or a holy dip. Strict action will be taken if the order is violated. This rule applies to both print and visual media.