AI misuse claims life of Faridabad college student; was being blackmailed with AI-generated photos of his three sisters
PTC Web Desk: A 19-year-old college student from Faridabad allegedly died by suicide after being blackmailed with obscene, AI-generated photos and videos of his three sisters. The accused reportedly demanded Rs 20,000 from the victim, threatening to circulate the morphed visuals online if the ransom was not paid. The deceased, identified as Rahul Bharti, was a second-year student at DAV College.
According to his family, he had been mentally disturbed for nearly two weeks before the tragic incident. His father, Manoj Bharti, said Rahul had become unusually quiet, withdrawn, and was not eating properly. “Someone sent obscene photos and videos of my daughters to Rahul’s phone and threatened to make them viral. He was under severe stress and consumed poison because of the mental torture,” his father said.
The harassment reportedly began about two weeks ago when Rahul’s phone was hacked. Soon after, he began receiving AI-generated nude photos and videos depicting himself and his sisters. The visuals were allegedly sent by a man named Sahil, who demanded Rs 20,000 to keep the content from being shared on social media.
Investigators recovered WhatsApp chats showing that Sahil had not only sent the obscene content but also repeatedly threatened and taunted Rahul. In one of the final messages, Sahil allegedly told Rahul to “end his life” and even described substances he could use to do so.
“Sahil sent a location message saying, ‘Aja mere paas’ (come to me) and kept threatening to leak the videos. He incited my son to die by suicide,” Manoj alleged.
On Saturday evening, around 7 pm, Rahul reportedly consumed poisonous substance at his home in Baselwa Colony, Faridabad. When his condition deteriorated, the family rushed him to a nearby hospital, but he succumbed during treatment.
The family, originally from Siwan district in Bihar, has been living in Faridabad for over five decades. Manoj, who works as a driver, said Rahul was his youngest child and the only son among four siblings.
Rahul’s mother, Meena Devi, claimed that another man, Neeraj Bharti, her brother-in-law, could be involved in the conspiracy. She alleged that Neeraj, along with a girl, had hatched the plan following a family dispute about six months ago.
The police have registered an FIR against two persons, Sahil and Neeraj, under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act. Rahul’s mobile phone has been seized for forensic examination to trace the origin of the AI-generated content and communication logs.
Old Faridabad police station in-charge Vishnu Kumar called the case a “serious example of the misuse of AI technology in cybercrime.”
- With inputs from agencies
