Muzaffarpur, July 19 (PTI) A hotel owner in Patna was allegedly blackmailed with an AI-generated deepfake obscene video and forced to pay Rs 9.7 million, after which an FIR was registered against three people, including a woman, here, police said on Sunday.
The extortion money was paid in four installments in Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi and Patna, of which the last Rs 2 million was recovered after police raids, he said.
Sub-divisional police officer Vinita Sinha said the FIR was registered on Saturday based on the victim’s complaint and further investigation is underway.
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He said the alleged mastermind of the extortion, Muzaffarpur resident Abhishek Kumar, conspired with women to create an AI-generated deepfake video of a hotel manager and demanded Rs 1 billion a few months ago.
Police said the suspect threatened to release the video and implicate the suspect in a false case if his demands were not met. According to police, the victim paid Rs 9.7 million in four installments to Muzaffarpur, Sitamahi and Patna.
“Under a plan to assist the police in tracing the suspect, the hotel management installed an electronic tracking device inside the bundle of banknotes and handed over the last installment of Rs 2 million to the suspect on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday.
Sinha said police tracked the location of the device, searched the residence of the alleged mastermind in Muzaffarpur and recovered the amount while the suspect managed to escape.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing and efforts are on to arrest the suspect, she added. PTI COR SUK NSD
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