What happened

Rahul Bharti was blackmailed by individuals who hacked his phone and used AI to create fake explicit content of him and his three sisters, demanding Rs 20,000 and threatening to leak the fabricated visuals on social media. 

According to his father, a man named "Sahil" sent the fake photos and videos via WhatsApp and demanded the money. Screenshots of the WhatsApp conversation showed multiple audio and video calls between the two, with 'Sahil' sending him a location saying 'aja mere paas' (come to me). 

Over two weeks of harassment and psychological distress, Rahul stopped eating and his mental health deteriorated, culminating in his suicide by consuming poison. 

The family filed a legal complaint against two individuals, both of whom apparently knew Rahul. 

Why it happened

The tragedy stemmed from people exploiting easily accessible and often free AI tools that can be used to create deepfakes for blackmail, amongst other nefarious purposes.

The suspects reportedly used hacked data from the victim's phone to generate the fake images and videos.