Delhi: Police arrest 22-year-old woman for creating ‘morphed’ photos to defame teacher

NEW DELHI: The Cyber Police Station of North District has arrested a 22-year-old woman from Old Delhi for creating fake Instagram accounts and using them to upload morphed and objectionable images of a fellow teacher, with the intent to impersonate and malign her reputation.

According to the release, complaint was received from a 25-year-old teacher in a government-aided school in Delhi. She reported that unknown persons created fake Instagram accounts in her name, uploaded morphed pictures, and sent follow requests to her students and colleagues to defame her.

The impersonator allegedly used Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to fabricate images falsely portraying the complainant’s association with a man.

Based on this complaint, a case under relevant sections of the BNS and IT Act was registered, and the Cyber Police Station, North District, took up the investigation, as stated in the release.

A dedicated police team led by Sub-Inspector (SI) Hanshul Gupta and comprising Head Constable Mohit and Head Constable Preeti Jha, under the close supervision of Inspr. Rohit Gahlot, SHO/Cyber Police Station and the guidance of Hemant Kumar Mishra, ACP/Operations Cell, swiftly swung into action.

Technical details obtained from Instagram, including IP logs, registered emails, and mobile numbers, were thoroughly analysed. With sustained efforts, the team identified the accused as a former contractual teacher of the same school, who had left her job in 2022.

During interrogation, the accused initially attempted to mislead the investigation by manipulating her students and claiming she, too, was a victim of fake accounts. However, strong digital evidence established her role in creating the accounts, editing photographs, and circulating fabricated videos.

The accused confessed to having developed a deep emotional obsession with her former mentor, now the Principal of the school. When her repeated attempts to gain attention–including creating fake videos portraying herself as a cancer patient and even faking her death—failed, she turned her hostility towards the complainant, whom she believed had grown closer to the Principal.

In her pursuit, she not only used AI tools to create morphed images but also allegedly resorted to occult practices. Three handwritten chits containing strange symbols, numeric sequences, and the names of both herself and the Principal were recovered from her possession, further highlighting her obsession. (ANI)