Cyber police register case against X user over 'deepfake' video of Ranveer Singh

Mumbai: Maharashtra police's cyber cell has registered an FIR against an X user for allegedly uploading a 'deepfake' or manipulated video in which actor Ranveer Singh appeared to be making an appeal to vote for the Congress, an official said.

The First Information Report (FIR) was registered on Tuesday on a complaint filed by the actor's father, Jugjeet Singh Bhavnani, against the user @sujataindia1st, the official said.

Ranveer Singh gave an interview to the media while he was in Varanasi to promote a fashion show and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to the complaint.

The actor said "It is Modi ji's purpose and goal to celebrate our rich culture, heritage, history, and legacy because we are moving ahead towards modernity very fast but we should never forget our roots, our cultural heritage," as per the FIR.

But X account holder @sujataindia1st made a deepfake video in which the actor is heard saying it is "Modi ji's purpose and goal to celebrate our painful life, fear, and unemployment because we are moving ahead towards injustice but we should never stop asking for our development and justice, vote for justice, vote for Congress," the FIR said.

Ranveer Singh never said this, and he does not have any relation with any political party, his father said in the complaint.

The FIR was registered under relevant Indian Penal Code sections, including 417 (cheating), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating) and 469 (forgery for the purpose of harming reputation), and provisions of the Information Technology Act, the official said.

Further probe was on into the case, the police said.

Deepfake videos are the ones which have been altered, in a convincing way, to misrepresent someone as doing or saying something that was not actually done or said.

The city police recently registered an FIR against an unidentified person in connection with a similar deepfake video of Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan where he was purportedly seen promoting a political party.