UP Teen Loses Rs 3 Lakh In Online Games, Uses AI Image To Fake Own Kidnapping

A class 11 student from Gorakhpur allegedly staged his own kidnapping after losing nearly Rs 3 lakh in online games, and demanded ransom from his father using an AI-generated image, police said on Thursday.

The 16-year-old, with the help of his girlfriend based in Delhi, used artificial intelligence (AI) to create a fake image showing him injured, with blood on his face and tape over his mouth, to make it appear that he had been abducted.

The student sent the image to his father on WhatsApp along with a ransom message demanding that he transfer Rs 1 lakh and threatening that his son would be killed if the money was not paid.

When the father said he could not transfer the amount, the accused asked him to bring Rs 2 lakh cash.

Alarmed by the message, the father approached police, who immediately launched an investigation.

According to the police, the teenager, son of a cloth merchant from Sant Kabir Nagar district, had borrowed money from friends and acquaintances to fund his gaming habit.

As creditors began demanding repayment, he allegedly devised the kidnapping plot to raise money.

On Tuesday evening, he left home claiming he was going to Sikriganj and switched his phone to flight mode. Later, he connected the device to a friend's Wi-Fi network and sent the ransom message.

The police placed the mobile number under surveillance and traced the location to Sikriganj. A team reached the area around 2 am and found the boy staying comfortably at a friend's house.

Additional SP South Dinesh Kumar Puri on Wednesday evening said the student confessed during questioning that he had fabricated the kidnapping story to arrange funds to clear his gaming-related debts.

Police are examining the role of others involved in the plan.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)