Faridabad teen dies by suicide after deepfake blackmail, two booked

Police said a 19-year-old student was coerced for ₹20,000 by suspects who made AI-morphed images; probe on to trace culprits through phone and chat records.

A 19-year-old college student died by suicide in Old Faridabad’s Baselwa Colony after being blackmailed by two unidentified suspects who allegedly created and threatened to release AI-generated morphed pictures and videos of him, police said on Sunday.

The victim, a B.Com student from Old Faridabad, was threatened by unidentified suspects with fake pictures of him and his sisters; police register FIR under BNS. (Stock.adobe.com)

The incident took place on Saturday evening, after the suspects allegedly demanded ₹20,000 from the student in exchange for not circulating the deepfake content. Police said the deceased, a B.Com student at a local college, had been under severe distress for the past ten days due to the blackmail.

A senior official at the NIT police station said the victim’s phone had been hacked, and the accused began threatening him through a messaging app. “They had created morphed pictures and images of the deceased, along with his sisters,” said the official, requesting anonymity.

According to the preliminary investigation, the accused issued repeated threats, leading the student to consume poison inside his room around 7pm on Saturday. “His family members immediately took him to a local hospital,” said Yashpal Yadav, public relations officer of Faridabad police, adding that the student succumbed during treatment.

An FIR has been registered against the two unidentified suspects under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). “We are trying to ascertain their identities, and they will soon be apprehended,” Yadav said.

Family members told police the deceased had withdrawn from social interactions and appeared distressed for days before the incident. Police said they are examining his phone records, chat history, and social media accounts to identify the perpetrators and determine how the deepfake content was created and shared.