Delhi Police on Saturday claimed that it has arrested the person responsible for making a deep fake video of actress Rashmika Mandanna. The accused was identified as Imani Naveen, 24, of Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. This video went viral on social media last November, following which demands for regulation on social media started rising from various quarters.

In the deepfake video, Rashmika’s face was superimposed on that of London-based influencer Zara Patel. The case was under investigation since November 2023.

“..We have arrested the main accused Imani Naveen, 24, from Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. Laptop and mobile phone were recovered from him. His deleted data is also being recovered…He used to run a fan page for a famous film actress (Rashmika Mandanna) and also created two more fan pages for other two famous personalities…to increase the number of followers. For this he made a deep fake video. …Further investigation is underway,” said DCP IFSO Unit Hemant Tiwari.

Delhi Police had earlier interrogated the users who shared the deepfake video of the actress.

Amid huge outrage, similar deepfake videos involving Alia Bhatt, Kajol and Sachin Tendulkar surfaced after Rashmika’s case.

After several similar videos went viral, the Center issued an advisory to social media platforms, emphasizing the legal provisions covering deepfakes and the potential penalties associated with their creation and dissemination.

In December 2023, Union Minister Rajiv Chandrashekhar met social media platforms to review the progress made by them in tackling misinformation and deepfakes.

Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnav had also recently said that notices have been sent to all social media companies directing them to take necessary steps to identify and remove disinformation from their platforms.

“Deepfakes are a big issue for all of us. We have recently issued a notice to all major social media platforms asking them to take steps to identify deepfakes and remove those contents. Social media platforms have responded. They are taking action. We have asked them to be more aggressive in this work,” he said.

“Furthermore, we should also note that the ‘safe harbour’ clause, which most social media platforms enjoy, does not apply if the platforms do not do enough to remove deepfakes from their platforms,” ​​the Union minister said. Don’t take steps.”