Man booked for sharing morphed obscene pictures of student

A man was booked by the Mumbai Police for allegedly sharing morphed obscene pictures of a 17-year-old student, an official said, reported the PTI.

The police have registered a case against the yet to be identified man who allegedly sent morphed obscene pictures of the student along with his family members and relatives on their phones, and demanded money from them, an official said on Tuesday, as per the PTI.

The suspect allegedly sent the morphed photos of the Class 12 student with his mother and other relatives on their Instagram accounts. The miscreant demanded money from the teenager and others for not uploading the pictures online, he said, according to the PTI.

The teenager approached the police after receiving calls from his friends and relatives, informing him about the obscene pictures, the official said.

In the meantime, the suspect also sent him a QR code scanner on his Instagram account and asked him to send money online if he wanted to get the pictures deleted, the news agency reported on Tuesday.

The student sent one rupee on his QR code and then filed a complaint with the police.

During the probe, the police found that a man, using an Instagram ID with the name Prateek, had been cheating people in a similar manner and had also received money from some of them.

An FIR under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including 419 (cheating by personation), 385 (extortion), Information Technology Act and other sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offence (POCSO) Act has been registered against the man, the official said, adding that further investigation is underway, the PTI reported.

Amit Shah deepfake video: Case registered by Mumbai Police

Meanwhile, in an another incident, the Mumbai Police have registered a case against the Maharashtra Youth Congress` social media handle and 16 others for allegedly sharing a deepfake video of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, officials said on Tuesday, according to the PTI.

In the fake video, BJP leader Shah was purportedly seen announcing the curtailment of reservation rights of the SCs, STs and OBCs.

A complaint in this connection was filed by Mumbai BJP functionary Pratik Karpe at the Bandra Kurla Complex cyber police station on Monday, an official said.

According to the complainant, the deepfake video of Shah was created, published and widely propagated on the internet, and shared by the accused with a malafide intent to defame the Union minister.

As per the complaint, the video deceitfully portrays Shah announcing the curtailment of the reservation rights granted to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and the Other Backward Classes. 

(with PTI inputs)