The Delhi Police arrested a 24-year-old on Saturday, January 20, for creating and circulating a deepfake video of actress Rashmika Mandanna supposedly showing her entering an elevator, which went viral on social media in November 2023. The accused has been identified as Eemani Naveen hailing from, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, and a case has been registered in the matter under sections 465 (forgery) and 469 (harming reputation) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and sections 66C (identity theft) and 66E (privacy violation) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
The IFSO unit of the Delhi Police had launched a probe into the deepfake video last November and zeroed in on Naveen after examining over 500 social media accounts. During the investigation, Naveen, who completed a digital certification course in Digital Marketing from Google Garage in 2019, confessed to the crime stating he created the video to increase the followers count of a fan page in Rashmika's name. The Delhi Police’s Special Cell posted a picture of the accused on X and wrote, "Andhra Pradesh based Eemani Naveen, mastermind of creating and posting India’s famous deepfake videos of a noted film actress, arrested by Special Cell (IFSO). Crucial milestone to combat nefarious design to defame celebrities." (sic)
Andhra Pradesh based Eemani Naveen, mastermind of creating and posting India’s famous deepfake videos of a noted film actress, arrested by Special Cell (IFSO).
— Special Cell, Delhi Police (@CellDelhi) January 20, 2024
Crucial milestone to combat nefarious design to defame celebrities.@LtGovDelhi@Delhipolice pic.twitter.com/xpqKinbjSf
The deepfake video showed the face of British-Indian influencer Zara Patel in a black workout dress being edited and replaced with that of Rashmika Mandanna, which caused a furore around the misuse of technology, with many leading celebrities expressing their concerns. Reacting to the incident last year, Rashmika penned an emotional statement expressing her concern over identity theft and wrote, "I feel really hurt to share this and have to talk about the deepfake video of me being spread online. Something like this is honestly, extremely scary not only for me, but also for each one of us who today is vulnerable to so much harm because of how technology is being misused." She added, "Today, as a woman and as an actor, I am thankful for my family, friends and well wishers who are my protection and support system. But if this happened to me when I was in school or college, I genuinely can’t imagine how could I ever tackle this. We need to address this as a community and with urgency before more of us are affected by such identity theft." (sic)
I feel really hurt to share this and have to talk about the deepfake video of me being spread online.
— Rashmika Mandanna (@iamRashmika) November 6, 2023
Something like this is honestly, extremely scary not only for me, but also for each one of us who today is vulnerable to so much harm because of how technology is being misused.…
