Ahmedabad: City crime branch on Saturday registered an FIR against 120 online entities, including social media profiles and websites, for allegedly running solicitation-prostitution rackets, circulating obscene content, and cheating citizens through online payments.According to the FIR filed by a crime branch constable posted with the technical cell, the case emerged during routine digital surveillance and social media monitoring. “As part of our daily duty, we analysed technical data and monitor social media platforms. During this process, we noticed several profiles and links to advertisements for sexual services in exchange for money,” the complainant stated.The FIR notes that the profiles openly displayed obscene photographs and videos of women on public platforms. “These profiles were found publishing vulgar images and videos, advertising hourly and overnight rates in Ahmedabad city, collecting money and cheating people,” the FIR said.Investigators found that the operators allegedly shared payment details through messages and lured users into transferring money online. The FIR further records that such content amounts to character assassination of women, “causing serious harm to their dignity and self-respect”.In a statement issued on Sunday, the crime branch said the action was part of a sustained crackdown on organized online exploitation. “A formal FIR was lodged against 120 entities, including social media handles and websites, for running escort services and defrauding the public,” the statement said.“The perpetrators used artificial intelligence to generate and circulate explicit content to lure individuals under the guise of escort services,” it said. The crime branch added that preliminary findings suggest that several victims were cheated after being asked to make online payments.Police officials said such activities violate multiple laws and have wider social consequences. “These acts not only constitute cyberfraud but also outrage the modesty of women by displaying obscene material on public digital platforms,” the statement said.Based on the findings, the crime branch invoked provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, and the Information Technology Act against the profile administrators and those operating the linked contact details. “Investigation is underway to trace the operators, beneficiaries, and financial trails linked to these platforms,” the statement said, adding that further action will follow as more evidence surfaces.
