Mumbai

Maharashtra Cyber Police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) and launched an investigation following complaints regarding deepfake/AI-morphed videos and derogatory content targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal circulating on social media platforms.

The legal action was initiated following a formal complaint lodged by Beena Jayesh Gogri, a 55-year-old social media co-coordinator for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) based in Kharghar, Navi Mumbai.

According to the official FIR document, the complainant came across a video on July 25 that was shared by a Facebook account named "Maharashtra Dharm."

As per the complaint, Gogri reported coming across a video posted on Facebook by an account named "Maharashtra Dharm." The post attributed hate speech and provocative remarks to Union Minister Piyush Goyal, alleging he said phrases such as "These cockroaches should be hanged in public."

Upon cross-verifying, the complainant confirmed that the original footage from the event had been technically altered, edited, or AI-generated to distort the minister's actual statement and mislead the public.

The investigation revealed several Facebook profiles and Instagram handles engaged in circulating offensive, morphed imagery and derogatory statements regarding Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Specific accounts and URLs cited under investigation include Facebook profiles of Karan Gaikar, Adv Raavindra Raaje, Pravin Kurud, Santosh Solapurkar, and 'Chala Hawa Yeu Dya', alongside Instagram handles such as @ambedkar_for_india and laksh_news_.

Posts featured objectionable depictions, false claims, and abusive language aimed at inciting public unrest and defaming constitutional authorities.

Maharashtra Cyber has registered the case under key provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 and the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000.

The FIR includes Sections 318(2), 336, 352, 353(1), 353(2), 356(1) and 356(2) of the BNS, along with Sections 66D and 67 of the Information Technology Act.

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Cyber officials have secured digital evidence and issued requests to relevant social media platforms to identify the account administrators, trace the original uploaders, and evaluate the technical tools used in generating the morphed AI content. Further legal action will proceed based on forensic analysis.