Man held for AI-generated video falsely portraying Delhi ACP in sexual assault

A 24-year-old man was arrested for allegedly circulating an AI-generated video falsely portraying Delhi Police ACP Vivek Bhagat as sexually assaulting a woman, with investigators probing whether the incident was part of a larger conspiracy to malign the force and spread dissatisfaction against the government.

Nadeem Ahmed Ameen, a resident of Palwal in Haryana, was apprehended from the Mewat region on Monday, and the mobile phone allegedly used to circulate the fabricated video was recovered from him, police said.

Addressing a press conference, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Manjeet said Ameen claimed to be an independent journalist and operated an Instagram account, ‘@news_aaina0776’, which had around 24,000 followers and 1,226 posts.

The account was created in April and was allegedly used to circulate the manipulated reel as genuine CCTV footage, police said.

The video showed a person dressed as a police officer allegedly engaging in sexually inappropriate conduct with a woman. Bhagat's photograph, name and designation were displayed alongside the footage, falsely portraying him as the person involved, the police officer said.

A case was registered at the New Delhi district Cyber Police station on October 4 under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to intentional insult, statements causing public mischief, forgery, damage to reputation, forged electronic records and circulation of obscene material.

During the investigation, police identified Ameen as the user of the Instagram account. The account through which the reel was circulated was found logged in on the mobile phone recovered from him, while content and a photograph linked to the fabricated video were also found in the phone's gallery, they said.

Ameen was produced before a court after his arrest and was taken into police custody for further investigation.

Police said Ameen had studied at a madrassa in Saket and had failed Class 10. His father is a retired government Urdu lecturer, and he is the sixth of seven brothers.

Investigators are examining the source of funding and whether a wider pre-planned conspiracy was behind the circulation of the video and other content aimed at creating what police described as "instigation and anarchy" during the protest.

Other social media accounts allegedly involved in creating a false narrative against the Delhi Police and spreading disaffection and dissatisfaction against the government are also being identified, police said.

The arrest comes against the backdrop of a controversy involving Bhagat, who was accused of sexually harassing a woman journalist during a protest here against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Bhagat was among 12 DANIPS officers from his batch who were assigned current duty charge as additional deputy commissioners on Monday. The order assigning him the additional charge was withdrawn on Tuesday.

The government said in a post on X that Bhagat had, "of his own volition", requested not to avail the charge until a full inquiry into the allegations of harassment of women journalists was completed and "satisfactorily concluded".

Police are continuing to investigate the origin and circulation of the fabricated video and the possible involvement of others.