One of three men the Gujarat police have arrested for allegedly uploading videos of women being medically examined at a maternity hospital in Rajkot had also posted videos of women bathers at the Mahakumbh, police said.

Lavina Sinha, deputy commissioner of police (cybercrime), Ahmedabad City, told local reporters that Allahabad resident Chandra Prakash Phulchand had started a YouTube channel called “CP Monda” a few months ago and recently uploaded pictures of women bathing and changing clothes at the Mahakumbh.

“We have arrested him from Allahabad for uploading (lewd) videos on a YouTube channel and downloading them from other sites. We are probing whether he intended to sell them,” Sinha said.

Phulchand was picked up from Allahabad on Wednesday, and Prajwal Ashok Taili and Rajendra Patil from Latur and Sangli in Maharashtra.

“They procured videos of patients from a maternity hospital in Rajkot with the aim of making money from their subscribers on the Telegram app,” Sinha said.

She said Taili and Patil had got the videos from hackers who had access to CCTV footage from a doctor’s room at the hospital. The duo sold the clips for sums between ₹800 and ₹2,000, earning ₹8-9 lakh in the last eight months, she added.

Taili and Patil have known each other for a long time but have no connection with Phulchand, the police said.

Three mobile phones, three laptops and hard disks have been recovered from the trio.

Police sources in Uttar Pradesh claimed that all three accused had posted pictures of women bathers at the Mahakumbh and auctioned them online. They said Taili and Patil were preparing for the NEET in Latur.

“They are among a dozen people making money by uploading pictures and videos of women from the Mela. Phulchand sold over 50 videos to other sites and individuals. We are trying to identify the people behind some other social media accounts. We are close to arresting many more,” an officer said.

“We have booked them under Sections 66E, 67 and 67A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, and contacted the intermediaries to remove the content from their sites,” the officer added.

Under Section 67A, people publishing or transmitting in electronic form material containing sexually explicit acts can be jailed for up tofive years.

Sites and social media accounts allegedly spreading fake news about the Kumbh have been booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita’s Section 153A (acts prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony) and 505 (publishing or circulating rumour with the intent of inciting a community), and the IT Act’s Sections 66D (cheating by impersonation using computer resources) and 69A (blocking public access to information that may harm public order).

Vaibhav Krishna, deputy inspector-general in charge of the Mahakumbh, said: “We are constantly monitoring social media accounts to maintain the sanctity of the Mela. We have got information that Ahmedabad police have arrested three accused.”

Prashant Kumar, Uttar Pradesh director-general of police, said: “We have filed 55-60 FIRs against more than 100 social media accounts so far in connection with objectionable videos made at the Mahakumbh.”

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who has positioned himself as the host of the biggest religious congregation on earth, has not yet commented on the smut videos emerging from the Mela.

He has, however, hit out at people who have flagged the mismanagement, VIP culture and absence of amenities for ordinary pilgrims at the Kumbh.

A large number of people died in a stampede at the Kumbh on January 29, with the tragedy attributed to the closure of several pontoon bridges and the police wielding their batons on pilgrims trying to make their way tothe Sangam.

Addressing a public meeting in Gola Gokarannath, Lakhimpur Kheri, on Saturday, Adityanath boasted about the Kumbh’s success and linked it to the state’s“potential”.

“The Mahakumbh is enough to understand the potential of Uttar Pradesh. Over 60 crore devotees have taken the holy dip at the (Sangam) Triveni between January 13 and February 22. This can happen only in Prayagraj and Uttar Pradesh,” he said.

“The entire world has accepted this potential (of Uttar Pradesh). Those who dislike this potential of the country and the state are making negative comments to malign (the Kumbh). But the country has proved, and the followers of Sanatan have shown, that they will take forward their pride in their heritage if the situation is conducive. It has shown the mirror to these detractors.”