New Delhi [India], September 9 : A 22-year-old man was arrested for allegedly using photographs of a woman from her private Instagram account to create and circulate obscene AI-generated images, following a complaint received by the Cyber Police Station, North District, Delhi Police.
The accused, identified as Keshav Bansal, a B.Tech graduate and resident of East Punjabi Bagh, allegedly knew the 22-year-old complainant from college and developed personal resentment towards her following repeated insults.
The woman approached the Cyber Police Station in North District after receiving messages from anonymous Instagram accounts informing her that morphed photographs and videos of her were being circulated through Discord servers.
Fake Instagram accounts were allegedly used to post and share the objectionable content, while threatening messages were also sent to the woman with the alleged intention of humiliating and harassing her.
A case was registered under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and an investigation was initiated to identify those involved and trace the digital infrastructure used in the case.
During the investigation, digital footprints, social media accounts, email IDs and other technical evidence were analysed. Multiple Instagram, Discord and Gmail accounts were found to be linked to the creation, uploading and circulation of the objectionable content.
The investigation led to the identification and arrest of Bansal.
During interrogation, Bansal allegedly disclosed that he obtained photographs of the complainant from her private Instagram account and used AI-based image-generation and editing technology to create obscene morphed images.
The images were allegedly uploaded on anonymous Discord servers. Subsequently, unknown online users created more explicit AI-generated images and videos, which Bansal allegedly reposted on the platform.
The alleged disclosure is being corroborated with available technical, electronic and forensic evidence.
The investigation indicates that the accused allegedly created and operated multiple fake Instagram, Discord and Facebook accounts and used several Gmail IDs for anonymous online activity.
A Samsung Galaxy S23 mobile phone, two SIM cards and relevant digital evidence were recovered during the investigation.
Further investigation is underway to examine the recovered electronic devices, establish the complete digital trail and identify the involvement of other persons, if any, in the creation, circulation and reposting of the AI-generated content.