Accused told police he wanted to turn protesters hostile toward police personnel using the fake video
Delhi Police have arrested 24-year-old Nadeem Ahmed, a resident of Palwal, Haryana, for allegedly circulating an AI-generated video that falsely depicted a police officer misbehaving with a woman during an October 3 protest in the national capital, officials said Tuesday.
How the video spread
Additional DCP (New Delhi) Manjeet told ANI that the footage began circulating on social media on October 3, with claims that it was CCTV footage from the protest site. The video appeared to show an individual in police uniform misbehaving with a woman, and the officer’s identity was being revealed through social media posts. When police examined the footage, they traced it to a channel run by Ahmed and arrested him.
What the accused told police
During initial questioning, Ahmed told police he was an independent journalist, though he said he had studied only up to Class 10 at a madrasa in Saket, Delhi, and described himself as a “10th-fail.” He told investigators he had access to AI tools that he had used to make such videos, and said his intent was to tarnish the image of the police so that protesters at the scene would develop hostility toward them and potentially turn violent against police personnel. DCP Manjeet said police took immediate cognisance of the matter and arrested him, and that he would now be taken into police remand for further questioning. Investigators are examining his sources of funding and any possible accomplices, and his phone has been seized for forensic analysis. Police also noted Ahmed became more active during the CJP protest and said they would examine whether the video was part of a larger coordinated effort.
Backdrop: the October 3 protest
The controversy stems from demonstrations held on October 3 by the All India Students’ Association (AISA) and other groups protesting against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Several protesters, including AISA president Neha Bora and senior advocates Prashant Bhushan and Kapil Sibal, attempted to breach police barricades near Jantar Mantar. According to Deputy Commissioner of Police Neha Yadav, protesters were warned to vacate the site as Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) was in force, and were subsequently detained after refusing to comply.
Following the detentions, three women who identified themselves as journalists separately filed a complaint alleging that police officers had manhandled and sexually harassed them during the law-and-order situation that day — a complaint distinct from the AI-generated video case, and one that remains under its own investigation.
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