Kottayam (Keralam) | A fourth-year B Tech student was arrested for allegedly using AI to morph photographs of classmates, including girls, here, police said on Saturday.
The accused, Ajmal, was apprehended following a complaint lodged by students of Mangalam College of Engineering, Ettumanoor, after some of them allegedly discovered that their photographs had been misused.
According to police, Ajmal used a high-end smartphone, and several students would approach him to have their photographs taken.
He had thus taken numerous photographs of students, including girls from his class, as well as during various college-related events.
Police said the matter came to light recently when another student happened to look at Ajmal's laptop and allegedly found that some of the photographs had been misused.
According to police, the photographs were digitally altered using AI to create obscene images.
The students subsequently informed their teachers and parents and approached the police with a complaint.
Following the complaint, police visited the college on Friday for a preliminary inquiry.
Police recovered Ajmal's mobile phone and laptop and allegedly found the morphed images stored on the devices. He was subsequently arrested, police said.
The case was registered under relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act, and Ajmal was released on station bail on Friday, police said.
His mobile phone, laptop and other electronic devices remain in police custody, and a detailed examination of the devices is under way, police said.
A preliminary investigation found that the morphed images were stored on Ajmal's phone and laptop, but police had not found evidence that they had been shared with others, police said. However, a detailed probe is underway to ascertain whether he circulated the images on social media platforms, police said.
Recently, a student in Kochi was arrested for allegedly circulating obscene morphed images of classmates and teachers on social media.
