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Medium reported severity Investigation Opened

Bengaluru: actor Rukmini Vasanth says AI-generated photos passed off as hers are fake and files a complaint after AI-morphed photos and videos of her went viral in May 2026; police arrest three people, reported on 19 and 20 June 2026

According to ETV Bharat Kannada (20 June 2026) and Oneindia Kannada (19 June 2026), Bengaluru police arrested three people accused of using AI technology to morph photographs of the actor Rukmini Vasanth and of circulating AI-made photos and videos depicting her on social media. ETV Bharat reports that the material went viral on social media platforms and in some media in May, that it harmed her dignity and privacy and caused her mental harassment, and that she filed a complaint. In a statement on her social media accounts, quoted by ETV Bharat, she said the AI-generated photos circulating as hers were completely fake and that making and spreading manipulated content was a serious violation of privacy. Police seized three mobile phones and the accused were remanded to judicial custody. Oneindia reports that her face had been obscenely altered with AI technology in a video released on the internet. The reports do not name the tool used.

AI system
Unidentified image and video tool
Occurred
May 2026
Reported
19 June 2026
Event location
India
What the AI did
Depicted or impersonated the person
Reported harm
Reputational HarmPsychological Distress
Whose AI use
Someone else’s AI use
Setting
Privacy · Work
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account
5 claims: 5 reported. 5 open questions
People reported harmed
1 person

AI system as recorded: Unidentified AI technology reported to have been used to morph the actor's photographs and to make photos and videos depicting her (police account via ETV Bharat Kannada and Oneindia Kannada)

What Happened

The material. ETV Bharat Kannada reports that photos and videos went viral on social media platforms and in some media in May, and that photos and videos made with AI technology to depict the actor were circulated on social media, harming her dignity and personal privacy and causing her mental harassment. Oneindia Kannada reports that her face was obscenely altered with AI technology in a video released on the internet.

Her statement. ETV Bharat quotes a statement from her social media accounts. She said that AI-generated photos claimed to be of her were circulating online, that they were completely fake and fabricated, that making and spreading manipulated content was a serious violation of privacy, and that she was taking legal action. She asked people not to share the material.

The arrests. On her complaint police opened an investigation and formed a team. Three people were arrested and three mobile phones were seized. Police said the accused were remanded to judicial custody. Oneindia reports that a Bengaluru cyber police team traced the accused through technical evidence.

Limits. Both reports relay the police account, and the accused are named in them and not here. The reports do not name the AI tool, say how many images or videos were made, or report the accused persons' response. No charge sheet or trial is reported.

Reported harm

AI-made photos and videos depicting the actor were circulated on social media, harming her dignity and privacy and causing her mental harassment, according to ETV Bharat Kannada's report of the arrests; she publicly called the images fake and a serious violation of privacy.

Outcome

Ongoing

On the actor's complaint police formed a team, arrested three people and seized three mobile phones said to have been used; the accused were remanded to judicial custody, police said (ETV Bharat Kannada). Oneindia Kannada reports that a Bengaluru cyber police team took three people into custody. No charge sheet or trial is reported.

What remains unknown

  • Which AI tool was used and how many photos and videos were made.
  • What the accused say and what each is alleged to have done.
  • Whether the material has been removed.
  • Whether a charge sheet has been filed.
  • When the material first circulated: ETV Bharat Kannada dates it to May 2026, while Oneindia Kannada, on 19 June 2026, says the altered video was released a few days earlier.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. Police say the accused used AI technology to morph the actor's photographs and to make photos and videos depicting her (ETV Bharat Kannada; Oneindia Kannada), and she said in her own statement that the photos were AI-generated and fake (quoted by ETV Bharat Kannada). The material depicts her (depicted_or_impersonated). No tool is named and no forensic report is described.

5 claims: 5 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported Police arrested three people accused of using AI technology to morph the actor's photographs; Oneindia Kannada reports that her face was obscenely altered with AI technology in a video released on the internet.

Causal attribution. Police account relayed by two outlets (one chain); no tool or forensic report is described.

  • etvbharat.com(opens in new tab) supports · Kannada
    'ಭಾವಚಿತ್ರಗಳನ್ನು ಎಐ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನ ಬಳಸಿ ಮಾರ್ಫ್​ ಮಾಡುವ ಮೂಲಕ ವೈಯಕ್ತಿಕ ಗೌಪ್ಯತೆಗೆ ಧಕ್ಕೆ ತಂದ ಆರೋಪದ ಮೇಲೆ ಮೂವರು ಆರೋಪಿಗಳನ್ನು ಪೊಲೀಸರು ಬಂಧಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ'
  • kannada.oneindia.com(opens in new tab) supports · Kannada
    'ಮುಖವನ್ನು ಎಐ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನದ ಮೂಲಕ ಅಶ್ಲೀಲವಾಗಿ ಮಾರ್ಪಡಿಸಿ, ವಿಡಿಯೋ ಇಂಟರ್ನೆಟ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ಹರಿಬಿಡಲಾಗಿತ್ತು'; 'ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ಸೈಬರ್ ಪೊಲೀಸರ ತಂಡವು ಮೂವರನ್ನು ವಶಕ್ಕೆ ಪಡೆದಿದೆ'
Reported ETV Bharat Kannada reports, in its account of the arrests, that the material was circulated on social media, harmed her dignity and personal privacy and caused her mental harassment.

Causal attribution. ETV Bharat Kannada's own narration in its arrest report; the sentence is not attributed.

  • etvbharat.com(opens in new tab) supports · Kannada
    'ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ ಜಾಲತಾಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಹರಿಬಿಟ್ಟು ಗೌರವ ಹಾಗೂ ವೈಯಕ್ತಿಕ ಗೌಪ್ಯತೆಗೆ ಧಕ್ಕೆ ಉಂಟು ಮಾಡಿ ಮಾನಸಿಕ ಕಿರುಕುಳ ನೀಡಲಾಗಿತ್ತು'
Reported ETV Bharat Kannada reports that the photos and videos went viral on social media platforms and in some media in May.

Causal attribution. The outlet's dating of the circulation; no day is given.

  • etvbharat.com(opens in new tab) supports · Kannada
    'ಕಳೆದ ತಿಂಗಳು(ಮೇ) ವಿವಿಧ ಸೋಷಿಯಲ್​ ಮೀಡಿಯಾ ಪ್ಲ್ಯಾಟ್​​ಫಾರ್ಮ್​​ ಸೇರಿದಂತೆ ಕೆಲ ಮಾಧ್ಯಮಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಫೋಟೋ, ವಿಡಿಯೋಗಳು ವೈರಲ್​ ಆಗಿದ್ದವು'
Reported In a statement on her social media accounts the actor said the photos were completely fake and that making and spreading manipulated content was a serious violation of privacy.

Causal attribution. Her own statement as quoted by ETV Bharat Kannada; the original post was not read.

  • etvbharat.com(opens in new tab) supports · Kannada
    'ಈ ಫೋಟೋಗಳು ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣ ನಕಲಿ ಮತ್ತು ಕಟ್ಟುಕಥೆ ಎಂದು ನಾನು ಸ್ಪಷ್ಟಪಡಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದೇನೆ'; 'ಗೌಪ್ಯತೆಯ ಗಂಭೀರ ಉಲ್ಲಂಘನೆಯಾಗಿದೆ'
Reported On her complaint police investigated, arrested three people and seized three mobile phones, and police said the accused were remanded to judicial custody.

Causal attribution. Police steps as reported; no charge sheet or trial is reported.

  • etvbharat.com(opens in new tab) supports · Kannada
    'ನಟಿ ನೀಡಿದ ದೂರಿನ ಮೇರೆಗೆ ತನಿಖೆ ಕೈಗೊಂಡು'; 'ಇದೀಗ ಮೂವರನ್ನು ಬಂಧಿಸಿ ಅವರಿಂದ ಕೃತ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಬಳಸಿದ 3 ಮೊಬೈಲ್ ಫೋನ್​ಗಳನ್ನು ವಶಪಡಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲಾಗಿದೆ'; 'ಆರೋಪಿಗಳನ್ನು ನ್ಯಾಯಾಂಗ ಬಂಧನಕ್ಕೆ ಒಪ್ಪಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಪೊಲೀಸರು ತಿಳಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ'

Sources

2 sources inspected, from 1 underlying account. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Read in Kannada by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-05 (ETV Bharat Kannada, published 20 June 2026); no human translator reviewed it. Relays the Bengaluru police account of the arrests and quotes the actor's earlier social media statement; same chain as the other source. Kannada 'ನಟಿ' (actress) is the basis for 'her'. The report names the three accused, who are not named here. Applies to s1.

Read in Kannada by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-05 (Oneindia Kannada, published 19 June 2026); no human translator reviewed it. Relays the police account of the arrests; same chain as the other source. It names the three accused with ages, which are not reproduced. Kannada 'ನಟಿ' (actress) is the basis for 'her'. Applies to s2.

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

Bengaluru police investigated and arrested three people, and the accused were remanded to judicial custody (ETV Bharat Kannada; Oneindia Kannada). The reports do not state where the actor lives. No court is named.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-05: Published under the 2026-09-15 charter: a named actor publicly said AI-generated photos of her were fake, filed a complaint, and police arrested three people over AI-morphed photos and videos. The account is the police statement as relayed by ETV Bharat Kannada and Oneindia Kannada (one chain) with her own quoted statement; all claims are reported. The accused are not named.

People described

Rukmini Vasanth, a film actor who made a public statement and filed the complaint

People reported harmed in this case

1 person

0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed

One person, the actor, is reported as depicted in the AI-made photos and videos (ETV Bharat Kannada; Oneindia Kannada).

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

Tags

#deepfake#ai-morphed-images#celebrity#arrests#india#karnataka#bengaluru#cyber-police#kannada-language

Cite this case

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

APA

NOPE. (2026). Bengaluru: actor Rukmini Vasanth says AI-generated photos passed off as hers are fake and files a complaint after AI-morphed photos and videos of her went viral in May 2026; police arrest three people, reported on 19 and 20 June 2026. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-rukmini-vasanth-ai-morphed-photos-videos-bengaluru-three-arrests

BibTeX

@misc{2026_rukmini_vasanth_ai_morphed_photos_videos_bengaluru_three_arrests,
  title = {Bengaluru: actor Rukmini Vasanth says AI-generated photos passed off as hers are fake and files a complaint after AI-morphed photos and videos of her went viral in May 2026; police arrest three people, reported on 19 and 20 June 2026},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-rukmini-vasanth-ai-morphed-photos-videos-bengaluru-three-arrests}
}

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