Two arrested in Toopran for planting AI-drafted Maoist threat letters

Medak police have arrested two 23-year-old men accused of planting threat letters, purportedly from Maoists, at the Toopran municipal office and inside the Toopran police station in a bid to draw publicity on social media.

The accused were identified as Banda Madhu and Chintakindi Sridhar, both residents of Nagulapalli village. Superintendent of Police D.V. Srinivasa Rao said a motorcycle, two mobile phones, a raincoat, a shawl and pens were seized from them.

According to the police, a masked man entered the Toopran police station around 1.30 a.m. on the intervening night of September 21 and 22 and left a red cloth holding a letter on the reception desk, while an accomplice waited outside on a motorcycle. A similar letter was placed near the municipal office at about the same time.

A case was registered and a special team headed by Toopran DSP Narender Goud scanned CCTV footage and technical evidence to identify the suspects.

The investigation pointed to Madhu as the prime accused, the SP said. He allegedly planned the act to attract publicity and build up his followers and views online, and had attempted something similar earlier in Medaram without getting the attention he had expected.

Madhu used artificial intelligence to draft the letter and prepared three copies with modifications, police said. The letters carried names along with sickle-and-hammer symbols.

On the night of September 21, the two men allegedly rode to Toopran on a motorcycle and first tied a red cloth containing one of the letters near the municipal office. Madhu then allegedly wore a mask and raincoat, entered the police station and placed another letter on a table while recording the act on his mobile phone, later sharing the photographs and videos with close associates, according to the police.

The two were arrested near Nagulapalli Bridge on Thursday.