Faridabad teen dies by suicide after deepfake blackmail, two booked

A 19-year-old college student from Faridabad died by suicide after he was allegedly blackmailed with AI-generated obscene pictures and videos of himself and his sisters, police said. The blackmailing began roughly two weeks ago, when two unidentified persons allegedly hacked into his phone and contacted him through the messaging platform WhatsApp. The victijm, Rahul Bharti, a second-year BCom student at DAV College, had been distressed over the morphed content and the blackmailing, his father Manoj Bharti said, according to NDTV.

Officials at the NIT Police Station said Rahul had been receiving repeated threats from the two suspects, who demanded Rs 20,000 for not circulating the obscene images and videos, Hindustan Times reported. On Saturday, around 7 pm, Rahul consumed poison inside his room at the family home in Baselwa Colony. Family members rushed him to a local hospital, but Rahul could not be revived, according to officials. Faridabad Police have registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and efforts are underway to identify and nab the suspects.

Police are now examining Rahul's phone, messaging history, and social media accounts to trace how the accused gained access to his personal data and created the deepfake content. "The case is currently being investigated based on a complaint from his (Rahul's) father. The mobile phone is being examined. Appropriate legal action will be taken based on the findings of the investigation," police officer Sunil Kumar said. Old Faridabad Police Station in-charge Vishnu Kumar described the case as a "serious example of cybercrime and the misuse of AI technology."