Ghaziabad: A second-year Jamia Millia Islamia University student and three of his associates were arrested for allegedly extorting money from a Canada-based NRI by threatening to circulate AI-generated sexually explicit videos.Police said the gang — Md Faisal (22) of Mewat in Haryana, and Md Amaan Tyagi (25), Md Hammad Tyagi (20) and Md Faizaan Malik (22), all from Muzaffarnagar — created a fake Facebook profile in the name of Navpreet Kaur Mahil and contacted a Canada-based NRI on Messenger.They allegedly made a video call on Sept 10 and recorded the victim in a compromising position. A few days later, they contacted him again and demanded $50,000 (around Rs 4.7 crore) and threatened to upload the footage and AI-made obscene videos if he refused. The victim was given an account number linked to a bank branch at Raj Nagar District Centre in Ghaziabad, but he contacted the cybercrime team on Sept 17.“The victim shared the accused’s mobile number, and preliminary inquiries linked it to 40 cyber fraud complaints on the NCRB portal. Taking suo motu cognisance, police registered an FIR under relevant sections of the BNS and the IT Act. Several teams were formed, and on Friday we arrested four members of the gang while some of the gang members are absconding,” ACP (crime branch) Amit Saxena said.Faisal, police said, is a second-year BCom student at Jamia Millia, while the other three have studied up to intermediate, police said.According to police, the accused told interrogators that Faisal and his associates, including Maroof, who is absconding, bought mule accounts and shared their details in a WhatsApp group. They allegedly created AI videos to target people in India and abroad, threatened to upload these online if victims did not pay, and withdrew the money as soon as it was deposited. The proceeds were split among gang members, and account holders were paid Rs 15,000 each at the time of sale.“The accused allegedly told cops that they stopped using an account against which complaints were filed. The accused said they would also cheat people in the name of share market investment through the Delta Elbo app. We have found AI sextortion videos in their mobile phones,” Saxena said.Police said the gang had been active since 2023 and had cheated hundreds of people across several states and abroad. Their phones revealed links with at least 130 bank accounts holding Rs 6.6 crore.
