Bengaluru Police have arrested a 25-year-old daily-wage worker from Bihar for allegedly uploading an AI-generated video showing a bomb blast at Vidhana Soudha, the seat of the Karnataka legislature. Investigators are examining whether the video was intended to cause panic, why it was created and whether anyone else helped produce or circulate it.
The video came to the police’s notice on Tuesday morning during digital surveillance. It was uploaded on Instagram by an account named “jnx_king_h_g” and showed the accused making a gun gesture and pretending to shoot at Vidhana Soudha. An edited clip then depicted an explosion at the building, accompanied by the caption, “Vidhanasabha Uda Diya Bam se”.
Police registered a case after detecting the video and arrested Hazarat Ali, who had come to Bengaluru a few months ago and worked as a pipe fitter. The police are questioning him about the circumstances in which the video was created and uploaded.
A police officer said the video had been created using artificial intelligence to make it appear as though a bomb had exploded at Vidhana Soudha. “We are investigating why he created and uploaded the video, and whether anyone else was involved in its creation or circulation,” the officer said.
The case places a prominent public building at the centre of an investigation into digitally manipulated content. Vidhana Soudha houses the Karnataka legislature and is one of Bengaluru’s most recognisable government landmarks. The police have not stated that any actual explosion occurred at the building; the material under investigation is an edited video depicting one.
The investigation is focused on establishing Ali’s motive and determining whether the video was meant to cause public alarm or served another purpose. Police are also examining how the content was made and circulated online, including whether other people were involved.
The arrest follows the police department’s use of digital surveillance to identify the Instagram upload. Further action will depend on the findings of the questioning and the examination of the video’s creation and circulation, according to the police account reported by The Indian Express.
