The Delhi Police announced on Saturday that they have arrested the main accused in the deepfake video case involving actor Rashmika Mandanna. The accused, identified as Eemani Naveen (24), is said to have created and posted deepfake videos of Mandanna on social media platforms, triggering concerns from various individuals, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and noted personalities like Amitabh Bachchan.
Rashmika Mandanna expressed her gratitude to the Delhi Police on social media, thanking the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) Unit for apprehending those responsible. She urged others to be cautious about their images being used or morphed without consent.
According to the police, Naveen, a B-tech graduate from Andhra Pradesh, was running a fan page for Rashmika Mandanna and had created fan pages for two other celebrities. The deepfake videos drew nationwide controversy, and Naveen reportedly got scared and deleted the posts after realizing the extent of the controversy.
During the investigation, more than 500 social media accounts related to the alleged deepfake videos were analyzed. The police traced the Instagram account of the alleged perpetrator, where the original video of a British Indian girl was posted on October 9, 2023, and the deepfake video was posted on October 13, 2023.
Naveen confessed to his crime during interrogation, stating that he created the deepfake video to increase followers on the fan page. The fan following reportedly increased from 90,000 to 108,000 within two weeks due to the controversial deepfake video.
The arrest highlights the challenges of deepfake content and the importance of addressing issues related to digital safety and image manipulation.
