A sessions court in Bombay on July 6 denied interim protection from arrest to Abhijit Patil, the owner of a Rishikesh-based Ayurveda firm, booked for allegedly creating and posting a deepfake video of Amitabh Bachchan. The actor had registered a case with the cyber police in May after coming across several deepfake videos on social media, which showed him promoting products of Patil’s company.
The accused had allegedly created and posted obscene deepfake videos of Bachchan to promote products for sexual health. Fearing arrest, the accused had moved the sessions court for anticipatory bail and sought interim relief till his plea was decided.
In its written response to Patil’s plea, the police underlined that persons accused of cyber crimes were under the impression that they would get bail even in cases where they stole the identity of celebrities and actors to make obscene videos. The special public prosecutor, appearing for the police, argued that the investigation would be hampered if the accused was granted bail. He also submitted that the accused had cheated the public and the actor’s fans “by creating a deepfake and using obscene language”.