Videos and photos of women changing clothes at the ongoing Mahakumbh mela are being sold on various platforms, with prices ranging from Rs 1,999 to Rs 3,000 for access.
The Uttar Pradesh Police have started legal action against two social media accounts for posting and selling explicit videos and photos of women pilgrims bathing and changing clothes at the ongoing Maha Kumbh mela. This move is part of a crackdown on inappropriate content shared on social media during the religious event.
Shocking photos and videos of women bathing, said to be taken at the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj, are being shared on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Telegram. The videos often show women changing clothes or using towels to cover themselves. Some of these are being used as teasers to sell more explicit content.
Some of the Facebook pages that promote pornographic content are sharing tthese videos with captions saying “Maha Kumbh Ganga Snan Prayagraj” and using hashtags such as #mahakumbh2025, #gangasnan, and #prayagrajkumbh, India Today reported.
According to Telemetrio, a platform that tracks Telegram searches, there was a big increase in the search term “open bathing” in India from February 12 to 18.
The videos, sold through different channels, cost between Rs 1,999 and Rs 3,000 for access. To tackle this issue, a case was filed on February 17 against an Instagram account for sharing inappropriate videos of women pilgrims. A second case was filed on February 19 after a Telegram channel was found selling similar videos.
On February 19, the Uttar Pradesh Police confirmed that two cases have been filed against the social media accounts involved, following instructions from Uttar Pradesh police chief Prashant Kumar. The Kotwali Kumbh Mela police station is investigating the cases, and legal actions, including possible arrests, are in progress.
The police have also contacted Meta, the company that owns Instagram, to get information about the people behind the accounts. Once they receive the details, further actions will be taken. Authorities have emphasized that these incidents violate the privacy and dignity of the women involved and are working to stop any further exploitation of such content.
