Delhi: Man held for circulating obscene AI-generated photos of college acquaintance

A 22-year-old man was arrested for allegedly using photographs of a college acquaintance taken from her private social media account to create obscene AI-generated images and circulate them through fake social media accounts, police said on Wednesday.

The accused, identified as Keshav Bansal, a BTech graduate in Electronics and Communication Engineering and a resident of East Punjabi Bagh, allegedly operated multiple fake Instagram, Discord and Facebook accounts and used several Gmail IDs to maintain anonymity while creating and circulating the objectionable content, they said.

“The case came to light after the 22-year-old woman approached the Cyber Police Station in North Delhi and alleged that unknown persons had created and circulated AI-generated obscene photographs and videos using her facial images,” a senior police officer said.

The complainant told police that she received messages from several anonymous Instagram accounts informing her that her morphed photographs and videos were being circulated through Discord servers.

She also alleged that fake Instagram accounts were being used to post and share the objectionable content and that threatening messages were being sent to her with the intention of humiliating and harassing her, the officer said

A case was registered and an investigation was taken up immediately. A team was formed to identify the persons involved and trace the digital infrastructure used in the crime. The investigating team conducted a detailed analysis of digital footprints, social media accounts, email IDs and other technical evidence linked to the fake profiles.

“The technical probe revealed linkages among multiple Instagram accounts, discord accounts and Gmail IDs allegedly used in connection with the creation, uploading and circulation of the objectionable material,” the officer said.

The digital trail was analysed to establish the identity of the person operating the accounts and ascertain how the content was created and disseminated. Subsequently, Bansal was identified and apprehended.

“He obtained photographs of the complainant from her private account and used AI-based image-generation and editing technology to create obscene morphed images. The accused then uploaded the AI-generated objectionable content on anonymous discord servers,” she further added.

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During interrogation, Bansal disclosed that he knew the complainant from college and that personal resentment had developed between them following repeated insults. He further disclosed that after the initial content was uploaded, unknown online users created more explicit AI-generated images and videos, which he subsequently reposted on the platform.

During the investigation, police recovered a mobile phone, two SIM cards and other relevant digital evidence allegedly connected with the case.

Further investigation is underway.