Rashmika Mandanna Deepfake Case: 24-year-old arrested by Delhi Police, confesses he did it to gain followers

Undeniably, Rashmika Mandanna is one of the most popular actresses in the country at present. However, in November 2023, the actress made the headlines for the wrong reasons. An AI-generated deep-fake video of her went viral on social media.

Deepfakes are a form of synthetic media where audio or video elements are manipulated using artificial intelligence. Rashmika Mandanna’s deepfake was the first of a string of similar AI-generated videos of celebrities, including Alia Bhatt, Kajol, and even Sachin Tendulkar, among many others. In the latest update, after almost two and a half months since the incident, the Delhi Police have zeroed in and arrested a 24-year-old from Andhra Pradesh.

24-year-old arrested by Delhi Police confesses to crime

As per reports, the accused, identified as Eemani Naveen, a digital marketer by profession, has confessed to the crimes. The police zeroed in on Naveen after examining more than 500 social media accounts that have been associated with the video. 

Further, it was also reported by NDTV that Naveen confessed to the crimes and mentioned that he created the video with the intention of gaining followers on Instagram. It is understood that the accused is a fan of Rashmika and even ran a fan page for her on social media. He added that once he created and posted the video on his social media, it quickly went viral, and his follower count increased significantly. 

However, Naveen quickly realized trouble was coming his way, deleted the video, and changed the name of the Instagram fan page. He also removed any relevant digital data from his devices.

Police on the hunt

Ever since the incident came to the forefront, the police have been on their feet, hunting for the origin of the video. On November 16th, the police arrested a 19-year-old from Bihar in connection to the crime. However, there was no substantial evidence to convict him.

Almost a month later, on December 20th, the Delhi Police detained four suspects while still hunting for the person who created the video. Finally, after searching through several accounts and possibilities, the Delhi Police zeroed in on Eemani Naveen.

Celebrities come out in favor of Rashmika Mandanna

Several celebrities took to social media to condemn the incident, as well as to support the actress. The first to voice out their opinion was Amitabh Bachchan. Soon, many others, including Mrunal Thakur, Naga Chaitanya, Sai Dharam Tej, and Chinmayi Sripaada also followed suit. Further, Janhvi Kapoor also praised Rashmika for the courage with which she handled the situation.

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