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Low reported severity Investigation Opened

Delhi Police and fact-checkers say a viral video of a Delhi Police DCP resigning over student protests was AI-generated; FIR filed in Maharashtra

In late July 2026 a 44-to-47-second video circulated on social media in which Delhi Police Deputy Commissioner Sumit Jha appeared to announce that he was resigning "immediately" because the government had pressured him to implicate students protesting with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on false charges. The fact-checkers Alt News and BOOM traced the frames to a genuine Delhi Police video of 23 July in which the officer warned about Pakistan-based social media handles spreading misinformation. BOOM found a mismatch between the audio and his lip movements and said Deepfake O Meter tools flagged the clip as AI-generated. Alt News reported a 67% likelihood of AI generation from Detectvideo.AI. Delhi Police posted a fact check calling the video "completely fake and AI generated", and the Hindustan Times reports that the Press Information Bureau also said it was AI-generated. After a member of the BJP social media team saw the video in a post by a Congress leader on 31 July, Maharashtra Cyber Police registered an FIR against unknown persons for public mischief and cheating by personation. The officer is named because he is a senior public official depicted in his official role and the fact checks name him; no statement from him is reported.

AI system
Unidentified video tool
Occurred
23 Jul 2026 to 31 Jul 2026
Reported
27 July 2026
Event location
India
What the AI did
Depicted or impersonated the person
Reported harm
Reputational Harm
Whose AI use
Someone else’s AI use
Setting
Public services · Justice
Evidence
AI involvement supported · Causal attribution supported · 4 sources
3 claims: 2 corroborated, 1 reported. 3 open questions
People reported harmed
1 person

AI system as recorded: An AI-altered video built from Delhi Police footage of 23 July 2026, with manipulated audio in a voice resembling the officer's, which The Federal calls "the AI-generated voice"; Delhi Police called it "completely fake and AI generated", the Press Information Bureau said it was AI-generated, and BOOM and Alt News ran it through AI-detection tools. No tool is named

What Happened

The video. Alt News describes a 44-second video uploaded to YouTube on 28 July 2026 with the caption that the Delhi Police DCP had resigned; BOOM describes a 47-second version. In it the officer appears to say he is resigning from the police because the government expected him to "spew lies about the students" and that he stands with the protesters. The CJP-led student agitation at Jantar Mantar had turned violent on 20 July.

How it was identified as AI-made. Alt News matched keyframes to a Delhi Police video posted on X on 23 July with the same flags and insignia in the background, concluded the clip was created from that footage "with the audio later manipulated", and reported a 67% AI likelihood from Detectvideo.AI. BOOM found an audio-to-lip mismatch and reported that Deepfake O Meter tools flagged it as AI-generated. Alt News quotes a Delhi Police fact check posted on X on 26 July: "completely fake and AI generated". The Hindustan Times reports a Press Information Bureau statement that the video was AI-generated.

Legal response. Maharashtra Cyber Police registered a case against unknown persons under section 353 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and section 66D of the Information Technology Act, after a complaint by a member of the BJP social media team who saw the video in a Congress leader's post on 31 July (Hindustan Times, 2 August). No arrest is reported.

What is not established. Who made the video and with which tool is unknown. No statement from the depicted officer about its effect on him is reported. View counts reported for one upload are not counted as harmed people.

Reported harm

According to Delhi Police, the Press Information Bureau and two fact-checkers, an AI-altered video falsely showed a named Delhi Police DCP resigning and accusing the government of pressuring him to frame protesting students; it was shared widely and Maharashtra Cyber Police registered an FIR for public mischief and cheating by personation.

Outcome

Ongoing

Maharashtra Cyber Police registered an FIR against unknown persons under BNS section 353 and IT Act section 66D (Hindustan Times, 2 August 2026). Delhi Police issued a public fact check on X. No arrest or charge is reported.

What remains unknown

  • Who made the video and with which tool.
  • Whether the depicted officer made any statement about the video or its effect on him.
  • Whether anyone has been identified or charged under the FIR.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: supported. Delhi Police called the video "completely fake and AI generated" in a fact check quoted by Alt News and The Federal; Alt News traced it to genuine Delhi Police footage of 23 July and concluded the audio was manipulated, with a detection tool estimating a 67% AI likelihood; BOOM found an audio-to-lip mismatch and reported that AI-detection tools flagged it as synthetic; the Hindustan Times reports a Press Information Bureau statement that it was AI-generated. The AI output is a manipulated video in which a voice resembling the officer's speaks a fabricated resignation statement over his genuine footage (depicted_or_impersonated), which is the false depiction that circulated and led to the FIR.

3 claims: 2 corroborated, 1 reported. What the statuses mean

Corroborated A video circulating on social media in late July 2026 showed Delhi Police DCP Sumit Jha appearing to announce his immediate resignation because the government had pressured him to implicate protesting students on false charges.

Causal attribution. Two fact-checkers viewed the video independently.

  • altnews.in(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'A 44 second long video is doing the rounds on social media, where Delhi Police deputy commissioner Sumit Jha is seen declaring that he is resigning from his position in solidarity with the protesting students.'
  • boomlive.in(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'A digitally altered video is circulating on social media with the false claim that it shows Delhi Deputy Commissioner of Police Sumit Jha resigning from the Indian Police force, alleging he was pressured to lie about student protesters'
Corroborated The video was made with AI from genuine Delhi Police footage of 23 July; Delhi Police called it completely fake and AI generated, and two fact-checkers found an audio-to-lip mismatch or manipulated audio and reported AI-detection results flagging it.

Causal attribution. Independent analyses by Alt News and BOOM plus official statements by Delhi Police and the PIB; detection-tool scores are probabilistic.

  • altnews.in(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'This suggests that the viral clip was created using this original video, with the audio later manipulated.'; 'The result indicated a 67% possibility of the video being AI generated.'; 'The viral video claiming Delhi Police DCP Sumit Jha resigned over student protests is completely fake and AI generated.'
  • boomlive.in(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'A reverse image search traced it back to the original video posted by the official Delhi Police X handle, on July 23.'; 'The clip shows a mismatch between the audio and Jha's lip movements, and running it through an AI detection tool confirmed it as synthetic.'
  • hindustantimes.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'The video was later confirmed to be deepfake, with the Press Information Bureau (PIB) issuing a statement that it was AI-generated.'
Reported Maharashtra Cyber Police registered a case against unknown persons under BNS section 353 and IT Act section 66D after a complainant saw the video in a Congress leader's post on 31 July.

Causal attribution. One police account relayed by two outlets; the FIR itself was not inspected.

  • hindustantimes.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'We have registered a case against unknown persons under sections 353 of statements amounting to public mischief of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and 66 D for cheating by impersonation of the Information Technology Act,'; 'On July 31,'
  • thefederal.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Police have registered an FIR against unknown persons under Section 353 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (statements causing public mischief) and Section 66D of the Information Technology Act'

Sources

4 sources inspected. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-11; no translation needed. Alt News fact check, HTTP 200; its own keyframe and detection-tool analysis, plus a quoted Delhi Police X post of 26 July. Applies to s1.

Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-11; no translation needed. BOOM fact check of 27 July 2026, HTTP 200; its own lip-sync and detection-tool analysis. Applies to s2.

Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-11; no translation needed. Hindustan Times Mumbai, 2 August 2026, HTTP 200; quotes a Maharashtra Cyber Police officer and the FIR, and reports the PIB statement. Applies to s3.

Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-11; no translation needed. The Federal, 2 August 2026, HTTP 200; FIR details overlap the Hindustan Times account and part is credited to ANI, so it is not used as independent support for the FIR. Applies to s4.

Event countries: India. Affected-person countries: India. Court countries: Unknown.

The depicted officer serves with Delhi Police, the source footage was posted by Delhi Police, and the FIR was registered by Maharashtra Cyber Police; all in India. No court proceeding is reported.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-11: Published as a core depiction case: Delhi Police, the Press Information Bureau and two independent fact-checkers say a viral video falsely showing a named Delhi Police DCP resigning and accusing the government was AI-generated, and Maharashtra Cyber Police registered an FIR. The officer is named as a senior public official depicted in his official role; the complainant, the uploader and the sharing politician are not named.

People described

A Delhi Police Deputy Commissioner, a senior public official depicted in his official role in a fabricated resignation statement. No statement from him about the video is reported.

People reported harmed in this case

1 person

0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed

One person: the depicted officer. He did not use the tool, so he is counted as another person harmed. Viewers, likes and the complainant are not counted.

Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.

Tags

#deepfake#ai-generated-video#police#protest#delhi#india#reputational-harm#fact-check

Cite this case

Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.

APA

NOPE. (2026). Delhi Police and fact-checkers say a viral video of a Delhi Police DCP resigning over student protests was AI-generated; FIR filed in Maharashtra. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-delhi-police-dcp-ai-altered-video-falsely-showing-resignation-over-student-protests-fir

BibTeX

@misc{2026_delhi_police_dcp_ai_altered_video_falsely_showing_resignation_over_student_protests_fir,
  title = {Delhi Police and fact-checkers say a viral video of a Delhi Police DCP resigning over student protests was AI-generated; FIR filed in Maharashtra},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-delhi-police-dcp-ai-altered-video-falsely-showing-resignation-over-student-protests-fir}
}

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