Faridabad Teen Dies By Suicide After Being Blackmailed With Deepfake Videos
Haryana: A 19-year-old college student from Faridabad died by suicide after being blackmailed with AI-generated deepfake images and videos of him and his sisters.
Police said the youth, identified as Rahul Bharti, was under extreme distress for several days before taking his life on Saturday evening.
According to officials, Rahul, a B.Com student from Baselwa Colony in Old Faridabad, had been receiving threats from two unidentified individuals who demanded ₹20,000 in exchange for not circulating the morphed content online.
The accused had allegedly hacked his phone and created fake explicit videos using artificial intelligence, showing Rahul and his sisters in compromising positions.
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Police said that the constant blackmail and humiliation drove Rahul to consume poison in his room around 7 pm on Saturday. His family immediately rushed him to a local hospital, but he could not be saved. “
An FIR has been registered against two suspects under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Police are examining the victim’s phone, chat history, and social media accounts to identify how the AI-generated content was created and circulated. “Efforts are underway to trace and arrest the culprits,” officials confirmed.
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Rahul’s father, Manoj Bharti, told the police that his son’s behaviour had changed drastically over the past two weeks. He ate little, rarely spoke, and stayed locked in his room for hours.
The family had no idea he was being blackmailed. When they checked his phone after his death, they found chat messages with a man named Sahil, who had allegedly created the fake videos and demanded money to stop their release.
In his final messages, Sahil not only continued his threats but also encouraged Rahul to take his own life, even suggesting the poison he should consume.
The family also suspects another acquaintance, Neeraj Bharti, might have been involved, as Rahul’s last phone conversation before his death was reportedly with him. Police are investigating both suspects.
The Bharti family, originally from the Siwan district in Bihar, has been residing in Faridabad for the past five decades. Manoj works as a driver, and Rahul is his youngest child. The family includes three daughters — two married and one unmarried — and Rahul was the only son.
Police officials said the case highlights the urgent need for stronger cybercrime awareness and digital safety measures, especially among young people who are increasingly targeted through social media and AI-driven blackmail.
