GUWAHATI: The Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) on Saturday, June 20, addressed the media regarding the alleged "AI photo generation" controversy involving two private schools in the city, stating that no AI-generated images, videos, or victims were found in either case after a detailed investigation.
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The DCP said police have recorded statements from school authorities, teachers, counsellors, and the students involved in both schools, and have also examined all available digital evidence. She clarified that the two cases are entirely separate and unrelated to each other, despite both being discussed together in public conversation.
In the first case, police found that an unnamed student had created a fake Instagram account and shared its password with friends, who began using it to chat with each other and with girls from the school. A dispute later broke out among the friends, and one of them compiled the screenshots from the group's chats into a PDF file and circulated it.
When the document spread, many wrongly assumed the account had been used to share AI-generated images of the girls. This misunderstanding snowballed into a full-blown hoax, prompting a student from the school to start an online petition demanding justice. The petition gathered widespread public support, the DCP noted, even though signatories had no verified information about what had actually occurred. Police said their investigation found no objectionable material linked to the account.
In the second case, a student had downloaded certain photographs from the internet, shared them with friends, and claimed to possess more such images. Another student, attempting to expose him, asked for the photos and subsequently created an Instagram group involving the entire class to discuss the matter.
As the story circulated, claims about the scale of the material grew dramatically, with some alleging 60 or even 170 photos and videos were involved. However, the DCP said the actual investigation recovered only 3-4 photographs and video, none of which were AI-generated.
The DCP reiterated that across both cases, no AI-generated photo or video was found, and no victim has been identified. She attributed the scale of public alarm in both instances to the fact that students did not promptly inform school authorities, allowing rumours and assumptions to spread before facts could be verified.
To support the students affected by the controversy, the DCP said police have arranged special counselling sessions for them.
