Delhi Police announced the arrest of a 23-year-old B-Tech graduate, Eemani Naveen, hailing from Guntur, Andhra Pradesh for creating a deepfake video featuring popular actor Rashmika Mandanna. The motive behind this digital deception? An insatiable desire to boost the follower count on his Instagram fan page dedicated to the actress.

The arrest comes in the wake of an FIR filed on November 10, invoking sections 465 and 469 of the Indian Penal Code, alongside sections 66C and 66E of the Information Technology Act. The case was initiated based on a complaint lodged by the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), underlining the seriousness of the matter.

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Delving into the details, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Dr Hemant Tiwari of the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) Unit revealed that Naveen utilized artificial intelligence techniques, courtesy of YouTube, to craft the deepfake video. Unveiled on October 13, the concoction quickly propelled Naveen’s fan page from 90,000 to a staggering 108,000 followers within a fortnight.

However, the joyride took a dark turn when the deepfake video gained national attention, triggering backlash from prominent film personalities on social media. Faced with mounting pressure, Naveen hastily deleted the controversial posts from his Instagram channel and even went so far as to alter the channel’s name in a bid to evade detection.

Further complicating matters, Naveen wiped his digital trail clean, deleting pertinent data from his devices. The police’s investigative efforts extended beyond borders, involving a meticulous analysis of over 500 social media accounts linked to the alleged deepfake videos.

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A British Indian girl had posted the original video on her Instagram account on October 9, 2023. Subsequently, the nefarious deepfake rendition gained traction across various platforms.

The breakthrough in the case came with the dedicated efforts of a police team led by Inspector Hansraj Swami and Sub-Inspector Kapil Yaduvanshi, supervised by ACP Manoj Kumar. The team traversed the distance to Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, where they eventually tracked down Naveen at his residence.

During questioning, Naveen admitted to being an ardent fan of Rashmika Mandanna, having created fan pages for her and two other film actors. Despite the substantial following of the other two pages, Mandanna’s fan base lagged, prompting Naveen’s ill-fated decision to resort to deepfake tactics.

Following the arrest of the perpetrator, Rashmika took to Twitter and expressed her gratitude:

“Expressing my heartfelt gratitude to @DCP_IFSO Thank you for apprehending those responsible. Feeling truly grateful for the community that embraces me with love, support and shields me. Girls and boys – if your image is used or morphed anywhere without your consent. It is wrong! And I hope this is a reminder that you are surrounded by people who will support you and action will be taken.”

An in-depth look into Naveen’s background revealed a trajectory into digital media, culminating in his return to his village in March 2023. From there, he began offering services in Photoshop, Instagram channel promotion, YouTube video creation, editing, and search engine optimization on a freelance basis.

With a laptop and three mobile phones recovered from Naveen, the arrest serves as a stark reminder of the ethical challenges posed by the misuse of technology and the consequences it can entail.

(With input from agencies)