Explicit videos and images of women bathing and changing clothes at the Mahakumbh in Prayagraj have been secretly recorded and illegally sold on social media platforms. The Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government has launched a massive crackdown against 17 social media accounts found guilty of monetising these objectionable clips, with police initiating strict legal proceedings, including potential arrests.
The Mahakumbh, one of the most revered religious gatherings in the world, has been desecrated by this heinous crime, where the privacy and dignity of women devotees were violated and sold for profit. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Telegram have become avenues for the sale of explicit content, which has sparked massive public outrage and demands for harsh punishment against the perpetrators.
The Uttar Pradesh Police, under DGP Prashant Kumar’s directives, have registered two separate cases related to the sale of these disturbing videos.
The first case was filed on February 17, targeting an Instagram account disseminating inappropriate visuals of female pilgrims. A second case was registered on February 19, after a Telegram channel was found selling similar videos for amounts ranging from Rs 1,999 to Rs 3,000.
Investigations have revealed that the illegal content is being marketed with misleading captions such as “Mahakumbh Ganga Snan Prayagraj”, with hashtags like #mahakumbh2025, #gangasnan, and #prayagrajkumbh. Certain Facebook pages, notorious for promoting pornographic content, have been sharing these videos to lure more buyers into their network.
Further analysis from Telemetrio, a Telegram search engine and analytics platform, uncovered a sudden surge in searches for “open bathing” in India between February 12 and 18—a chilling indication that these illegal videos were being actively sought and traded.
In response to the widespread public outrage, the Uttar Pradesh government has ordered an aggressive crackdown on all involved accounts. Police have also reached out to Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, demanding details on the individuals running these accounts.
“This is a grave violation of privacy and dignity. Women who came to seek spiritual solace and purification at the Mahakumbh have been turned into objects of exploitation. We will ensure that every individual involved—whether in filming, uploading, or selling these videos—is arrested and punished under the strictest laws available.”
Women’s rights activists have demanded urgent action and stricter digital surveillance at public events. A legal expert stated: “This is not just an issue of digital exploitation—it is an organised attack on women’s dignity. If social media companies do not act swiftly, they should also be held accountable for enabling such crimes.”
