Delhi Police arrest man in AI video case involving ACP Vivek Bhagat
Investigators say the reel was designed to resemble CCTV footage, but questions remain over who created it and whether others were involved.
Delhi Police arrested 24-year-old Nadeem Ahmed Ameen on Oct. 5 in an investigation into an AI-generated video that falsely linked ACP Vivek Bhagat to sexually inappropriate conduct with a woman protester. The reel was made to resemble CCTV footage and displayed Bhagat’s photograph, name and designation beside footage of a person in police uniform and a woman.
Police said the video was circulated through the Instagram account @news_aaina0776, associated with the News Aina Today handle. The account had about 24,000 subscribers. Officers traced it to Ameen, a Palwal resident who described himself as an independent journalist, and detained him in Haryana’s Mewat region.
The Hindu reported that police recovered a phone logged into the account. Investigators said it contained photographs and other material connected to the reel, which they said created a digital trail tying Ameen to its circulation. Police said he created the video on Oct. 3 using AI tools and circulated it the following day.
Delhi Police’s social-media monitoring unit detected the Instagram reel on Oct. 4. An FIR was then registered at the Cyber Police Station in New Delhi under several provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Police said Ameen told investigators his purpose had been to defame the force, provoke protesters and create unrest. Additional DCP Manjeet Sheoran described the alleged intended outcome as “spreading anarchy and triggering riots.” Police were also examining whether the video’s creation and dissemination were part of a wider pre-planned conspiracy, rather than an act involving Ameen alone. The Wire reported that police had not publicly established who created the video or how extensively it circulated, and were investigating whether others were involved.
The case arose amid protests in Delhi and separate allegations that Bhagat had sexually harassed and shoved a woman journalist during an Oct. 3 protest. The Hindu reported that 17 protesters, including the woman journalist, had been arrested the day before Ameen’s arrest. The Wire said no FIR had been filed against Bhagat over those allegations when it published, although Delhi Police said the matter had been sent for inquiry.
Police had issued body-worn cameras to personnel at and around focal protest sites, saying the footage would provide real-time records of interactions between officers and protesters.