Delhi Police nabs man behind Rashmika’s deepfake video
New Delhi: Delhi Police on Saturday arrested the main accused behind the deepfake video of Bollywood actor Rashmika Mandanna which went viral on social media last year.
Naveen holds a Btech in Electronics and Communication
The mastermind behind the deepfake video, identified as Eemani Naveen, was an engineer and allegedly wanted to boost followers on his Instagram handle.
In the deepfake video, Rashmika Mandanna’s face was superimposed on a video of British-Indian influencer Zara Patel.
The deepfake video, which appeared very real, sparked a discussion on the inappropriate use of technology, prompting numerous influential celebrities to voice their concerns.
During the interrogation, the accused shed light on the modus operandi behind cybercrime.
According to police sources, the accused Eemani Naveen is a native of Pedanandipadu village in Guntur and made the deepfake video to increase followers of one of the fanpages of Rashmika Mandanna he ran on social media.
Naveen, a fan of Rashmika Mandanna, revealed that he managed fan pages for three noted celebrities. To boost the followers of Rashmika Mandanna’s fan page, he created and posted the deepfake video on October 13, 2023.
The tactic successfully increased the fan following from 90,000 to 1,08,000 within two weeks.
However, as the deepfake video gained national attention and drew widespread criticism, Naveen panicked and deleted the posts from the Instagram channel.
He also changed the channel’s name and erased relevant digital data from his devices.
Naveen holds a Btech in Electronics and Communication, and acquired a certification in Digital Marketing from Google Garage, an online learning platform, in 2019.
Later, he developed a keen interest in digital media, completing courses in website development, Photoshop, video editing, and search engine optimisation.
Returning to his village in March 2023, Naveen started providing services such as Photoshop, Instagram channel promotion, YouTube video creation/editing, and search engine optimisation from home.
