Mahakumbh 2025: UP Police books Instagram, Telegram accounts for selling pictures of women bathing at Sangam

On Wednesday, UP police said it had taken action against the social media accounts following the directives of Uttar Pradesh police chief Prashant Kumar. This was done as part of the cops’ ongoing crackdown against offensive and misleading content on social media related to the religious gathering.

UP police said in a statement that their social media monitoring team detected that some social media accounts were uploading videos of women bathing and changing clothes at the Mahakumbh, clearly violating their dignity and privacy.

Following the discovery, the cops registered cases at the Kotwali Kumbh Mela police station and legal proceedings were initiated.

Mahakumbh bathing privacy violation: Police pulls in Meta

On February 17, police lodged a complaint against an account on Instagram for allegedly posting inappropriate videos of women pilgrims.

The police have also sought help and information from Mark Zuckerberg-owned Meta, which is the umbrella under which top social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp operate.

Police have asked Meta to identify the account operator. The accused will be arrested once Meta releases the information.

A Telegram channel, which offered such videos of women for sale, was also found during the crackdown. A case was registered against the channel on February 19. Legal proceedings have been initiated, and further investigation is underway, the statement said.

Police have reiterated their commitment to strict action against individuals misusing social media to spread objectionable content or misinformation about the Maha Kumbh.

Maha Kumbh, which occurs once every 144 years, started on January 13 and will conclude on February 26. Millions of pilgrims, including people from abroad, have gathered at the holy festival in Prayagraj.