A 21-year-old student of Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) in Nava Raipur, Chhattisgarh, has been arrested for allegedly creating objectionable images of female students using Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, police said on Thursday.

The accused, identified as Sayyed Rahim Adnan Ali, a second-year student of the Electronics and Communication Engineering department and a native of Bilaspur district, was taken into custody following a complaint lodged by the institute’s Registrar (in charge) Dr. Srinivasa K.G., said Additional Superintendent of Police (Nava Raipur) Vivek Shukla.

“After the matter came to light, a team from Rakhi police reached the institute. The management informed that Ali, who was residing in the institute's boys hostel, had allegedly created obscene images by morphing photos of around 36 female students using AI image generation and editing tools,” ASP Shukla said.

According to police, the accused had saved personal photographs of the girls from their social media accounts and morphed them into obscene images and videos using AI-based editing tools.

“He has edited pictures of at least 36 girls using AI’s image generation editing tools, which were found on his laptop, hard disk, pen drives and mobile phone,” Shukla told reporters.

An internal inquiry was launched by the institute after some students raised suspicions about Ali’s activities and informed the management.

“Based on its findings, Ali was suspended from the institute, and his mobile phone and laptop were seized,” said Shukla.

The Raipur Inspector General of Police, Amresh Mishra, confirmed that a First Information Report (FIR) under the Information Technology Act and relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered in the case.

“So far, there is no evidence to suggest the morphed images were circulated or made viral. The management has also not indicated that the images were shared online. Ali was booked under section 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of the BNS and provisions of the IT Act. His questioning is underway,” Shukla added.

The institute has also constituted an internal committee of women faculty members to probe the technical aspects of the case and determine if any of the manipulated images were uploaded to the internet.

Police said Ali, described as “AI-savvy” by investigators, had been asked to leave the campus immediately. His parents were summoned by the institute after his suspension.