Ex-UP junior engineer, his wife get death for sexually abusing 33 boys, selling their videos
Times of India
by PATHIKRIT CHAKRABORTYFebruary 21, 2026
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A Pocso court in UP's Banda has sentenced a former government junior engineer and his wife to death for sexually abusing 33 boys over a decade, with some as young as three. The couple, identified as Ram Bhawan (50) and Durgawati (47), exploited their victims by offering them access to online video games, money, and gifts to lure them into their sinister scheme. They tortured the children, documented the abuse in videos and photographs, and sold these exploitative materials on the dark web to customers across 47 countries. The court described their crimes as "rarest of rare" due to the extreme trauma inflicted on the victims, including severe physical injuries and long-term psychological harm.
The case gained attention after Interpol involved the CBI in an inquiry following a tip-off about child sexual abuse content on the dark web. The CBI filed a chargesheet on February 10, 2021, detailing the heinous acts committed by Ram Bhawan and Durgawati from 2010 to 2020. Medical experts from AIIMS Delhi examined 25 of the victims, revealing severe injuries caused by the convicts. The prosecution relied on these findings, along with digital evidence and victim testimonies, to secure the death penalty.
The court also ordered the UP government to pay Rs 10 lakh in compensation to each of the 33 victims. Additional district judge PK Mishra emphasized that the couple's crimes were so heinous and far-reaching that they left no room for reformation, necessitating the ultimate punishment. The case highlights the global nature of child abuse facilitated by the dark web, where predators can operate across borders with impunity.
This verdict sends a strong message about the importance of severe penalties for crimes against children, particularly those involving sexual exploitation and psychological trauma. The involvement of Interpol and the CBI underscores the need for international cooperation to combat such transnational crimes. The case also sheds light on the vulnerabilities of children and the importance of legal frameworks to protect them from exploitation.
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Originally published on Times of India on 2/21/2026