Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s use of deeply fake videos to extort money: Rajasthan youth moves Madras High Court for bail
The petitioner claimed that the police detained him without ascertaining the actual fact. | Photo credit: FILE PHOTO
A young Rajasthani youth arrested by the Tamil Nadu police for allegedly using deeply fake videos of Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay to extort money from gullible people has approached the Madras High Court seeking bail in a case booked by the Cyber Crime Cell of the Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID).
The plea came up for hearing before Justice N. Ramesh on Friday (October 23, 2026). Petitioner J. Shyabu Khan, 28, of Boontoli village in Alwar district, Rajasthan was arrested on 12 September 2026 and transferred to Tamil Nadu on a transfer warrant before being lodged in a local jail here on his remand.
It was alleged against him that he had created Facebook accounts named “All India Helping Vijay Thalapati” and “All India Helping”, which used deeply fake AI-generated videos of the Chief Minister promising to help people in need if they registered after paying registration fees to a specific UPI number.
The cyber crime cell came across the deeply fake videos during regular cyber patrols, traced the IP addresses to Boontoli and nabbed the appellant with the assistance of the Rajasthan Police. The Principal Sessions Court, Chennai on 14 October 2026 refused to grant bail to the petitioner.
Although the petitioner claimed that the identity impersonation videos were made by his friend Sakrulla, he used his Facebook ID, mobile phone number and also bank account to commit the crime, the appellate court refused to grant bail as the investigation was yet to be completed.
In his current bail application in the High Court, the petitioner also maintained his innocence and said that his family had been subjected to great prejudice due to his imprisonment for the last 40 days. He agreed to abide by all conditions imposed by the court for the purpose of granting bail.
The petitioner also alleged that the police arrested him without ascertaining the true facts and said that the investigation must have been almost over as more than a month had passed since his arrest.
Published – 23 Oct 2026 01:55 IST