Bihar Youth Associated With Jan Suraaj Party Arrested For Creating Fake AI Videos Of President Murmu, PM Modi

Muzaffarpur: A team of cyber police in Bihar arrested a youth from Muzaffarpur district on Friday for allegedly creating fake videos of President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and circulating those on social media platforms.

The arrested accused has been identified as Pramod Kumar Raj, a resident of Bhagwanpur village under Bochahan police station area.

Police said the fake videos amounted to a serious violation of the dignity of the country's highest constitutional offices.

The matter came to light on Friday (January 2) during routine social media monitoring, when fake AI-generated videos using the name, appearance and voice of the President and the Prime Minister were detected. The videos showed the President discussing various issues, including the purchase of Rafale fighter aircraft, with the Prime Minister. The language, tone and tenor of the video and the voices in it were indecent and stigmatised the two top leaders of the country.

Accused Pramod Raj clicks a selfie with Jan Suraaj party founder Prashant Kishor (Social Media)

Taking note of the seriousness of the case, Senior Superintendent of Police Sushil Kumar immediately ordered a thorough investigation.

Subsequently, a team led by the Deputy Superintendent of Police (Cyber crime) Himanshu Kumar collected technical evidence, traced the accused and arrested him from his residence at Bhagwanpur on Friday night. Police also seized the mobile phone used by the accused to create the videos.

Rural SP Rajesh Singh Prabhakar said that a case has been registered at the cyber police station. "During interrogation, it was found that the accused had edited and created the videos using AI technology," Singh stated.

Police said the purpose of the fake videos was to spread confusion among the public, damage the reputation of constitutional institutions, and create distrust towards democratic systems, which could have affected social harmony and law and order.

Following Pramod's arrest, police are now verifying his criminal background by contacting other police stations, including Bochahan. If any previous cases are found, the accused will be taken on remand for further questioning, Singh said.

"During routine social media monitoring, the police team stumbled upon fake videos generated using Artificial Intelligence. Considering the seriousness of the video, case number 1/26 was registered at the cyber police station. Following this, the youth was identified and arrested and his mobile phone was seized," said the Rural SP.

Muzaffarpur SSP Sushil Kumar told ETV Bharat, "We keep monitoring the social media for illegal activities and took suo motu cognizance of the matter after it came to our knowledge. Our cyber and tech team registered an FIR with regard to the two fake videos circulated on social media. A detailed investigation led the teams to the accused Pramod Kumar Raj."

"The arrested youth is a social media influencer and is associated with Jan Suraaj Party. He ran a social media page of the Jan Suraaj Party related to Bochahan (which also happens to be a legislative assembly constituency). We also took help from Instagram. It has taken down the video," the SSP added.

Speaking further, Sushil pointed out that the fake video could have spread anti-national feelings, rumours and social unrest.

The FIR number 1/26 registered at the cyber police station Muzaffarpur has imposed various sections of Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000, including section 66(D) (cheating by impersonation by using a computer resource or communication device), Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 351 (criminal intimidation by anonymous communication to harm a person, his property or reputation), 352 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace), 353 (statements conducting to public mischief) and others.

Accused Pramod Raj will be produced in the court today (Saturday).

Muzaffarpur police’s social media in-charge Divesh Kumar Dwivedi, who was a part of the cyber team, said that the mobile phone with which the video was uploaded was recovered from him. Police are further investigating the matter from the angle of conspiracy, if any.

Meanwhile, the cyber police has appealed to the public to remain alert and avoid sharing fake or misleading content in social media.

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