Tamil Nadu CB-CID Arrests Rajasthan Man Over AI Deepfake Videos of CM

The Crime Branch CID of the Tamil Nadu police has arrested a man in Rajasthan for allegedly creating and circulating AI-generated deepfake videos that impersonated the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, the state police said.

The videos, which carried Hindi audio, were posted across social media platforms and urged members of the public to contact a WhatsApp number for financial assistance, according to the police. Investigators said the clips were made and shared with the intention of cheating innocent people.

The cybercrime team of the CBCID came across the videos during routine cyber patrolling. A case was registered in the Cyber Crime Cell under various legal provisions, and special teams were formed to investigate.

Probing the case, investigators found that the accused and his associates had used the AI-generated videos to defraud several people across Madhya Pradesh and other states. The police said the group had been operating with impunity.

Besides getting the deepfake videos taken down, the investigators gathered data from intermediaries and service providers and analysed the digital trails in depth. The trail led them to the prime suspect's movements in the hinterlands of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. With assistance from the Rajasthan police, he was arrested near Alwar. Mobile phones and other electronic gadgets allegedly used in the offence were seized.

The accused was produced before a local court for a transit warrant before being brought to Chennai.

The police said many similar videos were being shared through Pakistan-based Facebook accounts. They said extensive digital investigation was under way to identify the foreign perpetrators and to uncover any local accomplices, despite the operational challenges involved.

Director-General of Police Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal, who heads the force, commended the officers and the team for an operation that relied on advanced technical analysis and led to the arrest.