A UP court sentences a couple to death for sexually abusing 33 boys and selling videos on the dark web, calling it “rarest of rare.”
A special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court in Banda, Uttar Pradesh, has sentenced a couple to death for the prolonged sexual abuse and exploitation of minor boys, and for recording and selling the abuse material on the dark web.
The trial, conducted over years of testimony and evidence, concluded on 20 February 2026 when Judge Pradeep Kumar Mishra described the crimes as falling within the rarest of rare category a legal threshold under Indian law that can justify the death penalty in exceptional cases.
The convicted couple Ram Bhavan, a 50-year-old former junior engineer in the Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department, and his 47-year-old wife Durgawati were found guilty of systematically sexually assaulting 33 minor boys, some as young as three, over nearly a decade from 2010 to 2020.
Prosecutors presented extensive evidence showing the pair lured children from economically disadvantaged families and subjected them to repeated abuse, then recorded videos and images of the acts. Those materials were disseminated and sold through encrypted channels on the dark web to clients in multiple countries.
In addition to capital punishment, the court imposed fines on the couple and ordered that compensation of ₹10 lakh be provided (11.000 USD) to each of the victims by the state government, aiming to support their rehabilitation following severe physical and psychological trauma.
The couple’s convictions included multiple offenses under the Indian Penal Code, the POCSO Act, 2012, and the Information Technology Act for producing, storing and distributing child sexual abuse material (CSAM), as well as criminal conspiracy.
This landmark verdict underscores the severity with which Indian courts can treat cases of child sexual exploitation and dark web distribution of abuse media, particularly when sustained and widespread harm to minors is demonstrated.
Reports are sourced from official documents, law-enforcement updates, and credible investigations.
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