Actress Rashmika Mandanna has expressed her gratitude towards the Delhi Police for the arrest of a B-Tech graduate from Andhra Pradesh in connection with a deepfake video featuring the "Animal" star. The video, which circulated widely on social media in November, portrayed a woman in a black workout onesie entering an elevator.
The accused, identified as 23-year-old Eemani Naveen from Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, used artificial intelligence (AI) to morph the face of British-Indian social media personality Zara Patel to resemble Rashmika Mandanna.
Taking to her official X page, Mandanna shared a note, expressing her heartfelt thanks to @DCP_IFSO and the Delhi Police's Cyber Crime Unit. In her message, the 27-year-old actress said, "Feeling truly grateful for the community that embraces me with love, support and shields me."
Mandanna also took the opportunity to convey a message to others facing similar situations, stating, "Girls and boys - if your image is used or morphed anywhere without your consent. It is wrong! And I hope this is a reminder that you are surrounded by people who will support you and action will be taken!"
The accused had created the deepfake video with the intention of increasing followers on his fan page dedicated to Mandanna on Instagram. Deepfake involves using AI technology to convincingly replace one person’s likeness with another.
An FIR was registered on November 10 under sections 465 and 469 of the Indian Penal Code and sections 66C and 66E of the Information Technology Act at the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) Unit of the Delhi Police's Special Cell, following a complaint by the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW).
Rashmika Mandanna had received support from colleagues including Amitabh Bachchan, Mrunal Thakur, and Naga Chaitanya when the deepfake video went viral on social media.
(With Agency Inputs)
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