Kerala: 3 Men Use AI To Create Nude Images Of Over 150 Women In Village

The Chittarikkal police have arrested three young men for allegedly creating and distributing nude images of over 150 women from their own village using artificial intelligence (AI) applications. This illicit activity reportedly continued for the past year and a half, with the nude images being uploaded to a private Instagram account accessible only to select members, according to police sources.

The individuals arrested have been identified as Sibin Lukose, aged 21, Ebin Tom Joseph, aged 18, and Justin Jacob, aged 21. They face charges under Section 67(a) of the Information Technology Act for "transmitting material containing sexually explicit acts in electronic form." The station house officer of Chittarikkal confirmed that the trio has been released on station bail. If convicted, they could face imprisonment for up to seven years and a fine of Rs 10 lakh.

Background Of The Case

Sibin Lukose visited a friend's house on June 11. While casually browsing through Sibin's phone, the friend stumbled upon a nude photograph of his relative, followed by numerous similar images of other women from the village. Alarmed by his discovery, the friend copied some of the photographs and informed his relatives and a local panchayat member, who subsequently lodged a police complaint.

Details Of The Offense

The investigation revealed that Sibin and Ebin were primarily responsible for creating the explicit images, which were then forwarded to Justin Jacob. Before the police intervention, Sibin and Ebin managed to delete the images from their phones; however, Justin failed to do so, leaving incriminating evidence behind.

Further inquiry disclosed that the young men sourced the original photographs from social media platforms and captured additional images using a digital camera. They specifically targeted women attending church on Sundays and participating in the Way of the Cross procession on Good Friday. Notably, images of around 40 of their schoolmates were discovered during the investigation.

On June 16, a community awareness meeting was convened to address the issue, drawing at least 210 attendees. During this meeting, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) Sibi Thomas assured the villagers of a thorough investigation and pledged to protect the privacy of the complainants. In the wake of these developments, four individuals have already come forward to file complaints, and the police anticipate more survivors to step forward. The mobile phones of the accused have been sent to the Cyber Police for a forensic examination to gather further evidence.