Assam engineer held for AI-generated porn scandal targeting former classmate
Police bust cybercrime operation; accused earned Rs1m by exploiting morphed images
Dubai: A 30-year-old mechanical engineer has been arrested in Assam’s Tinsukia district for allegedly using artificial intelligence tools to create and circulate explicit content falsely depicting a former classmate as part of the adult film industry.
The accused, Pratim Bora, was arrested on Saturday night by the Dibrugarh police following a cybercrime complaint filed by the victim — a married woman of the same age whom he had studied with in college between 2013 and 2017.
The arrest follows a week of viral, provocative Instagram posts that wrongly linked the woman to the adult entertainment industry, even associating her with a well-known adult film actor.
But what initially appeared to be a shocking personal transformation turned out to be a calculated and malicious cyber attack, orchestrated by someone she once knew.
AI used to morph images, spread lies, earn money
According to Dibrugarh SSP in-charge Sizal Agarwal, Bora used advanced AI platforms such as Midjourney and OpenArt to morph the victim’s images and create fake pornographic content, which was then posted across fake Instagram accounts and adult content platforms.
“He created a web page using Linktree and enabled a subscription-based system to access the content. Through this, he earned around ₹10 lakh,” Agarwal said.
What began as a personal vendetta, police said, soon evolved into a money-making scheme. The accused capitalised on the viral traction of the fake posts, drawing millions of views and followers. The campaign even claimed the woman had moved to the United States and was actively working in the adult film industry.
Swift police action based on Instagram clues
The woman approached police after spotting her morphed images circulating widely online. From a reference to a suspicious Instagram account, police traced a phone number linked to the profile and tracked down Bora, confirming the connection after the woman identified him as a former classmate.
During the raid, police seized a trove of digital evidence, including:
A laptop
Two mobile phones
One hard disk, a tablet, a pen drive, a card reader
Multiple SIM cards and credit/debit cards
Multiple profiles
ASP Agarwal confirmed that Bora had created multiple fake social media profiles and Gmail accounts to run the operation and spread the doctored material.
Sections Invoked: New BNS Laws on Cyber Harassment
The case has been registered under several provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including:
Section 336(4): Criminal force to outrage a woman’s modesty
Section 356(2): Sexual harassment
Section 74, 75: Creation and circulation of obscene material
Section 294: Criminal intimidation
Section 351(2): Defamation and cyber harassment
Bora was produced before the District and Sessions Court of Dibrugarh, which sent him to five-day police custody for further investigation.
Assam reacts with outrage
The revelations have sparked widespread outrage across Assam, particularly on social media, where many users expressed shock and demanded strict action against the misuse of AI for deepfake-style cyber harassment.
Authorities now face the larger challenge of tracking the spread of the doctored content, removing it from circulation, and strengthening cyber laws to address AI-generated abuse.
“This case is a wake-up call,” said one senior official. “AI is no longer just a tool for creativity. It’s being weaponised to destroy lives.”
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