Kozhikode: Two accused in the Kozhikode Deepfake ID scam have been released on bail. The Kozhikode Sessions Court granted bail to Sheikh Murtuzamiya Hayatbhai from Mehsana, Gujarat and Amrish Ashok Patel from Navi Mumbai on executing bonds for Rs 1 lakh each with two solvent sureties.
The court considered the period they spent under judicial custody and the argument of the petitioners' advocate that the two had no prior criminal charges. They have to appear before the investigating officer in the Kozhikode City Cyber Police Station every Tuesday. The duo has been directed to not leave Kerala without the permission of the jurisdictional court.
Murtuzamiya and Patel are accused of helping the prime accused Kaushal Shah, who is in Tihar Jail, to swindle Rs 40,000 from Kozhikode native Radhakrishnan. Shah and three others, including Murtuzamiya and Patel had allegedly swindled the 74- year-old retired central government officer using Deepfake technology in July 2023. This was the country's first case of money extortion using AI technology.
Shah, who hails from Ahmedabad, created a fake image of Venu Kumar, a friend of Radhakrishnan and made a WhatsApp call requesting the amount for a medical emergency.
After Radhakrishnan made the payment, Shah transferred the amount to Murtuzamiya. But Murtuzamiya's advocate Mujeeb Rahman argued in the court that his client was an illiterate auto driver and Shah took advantage. He used to hire Murtuzamiya's auto rickshaw and based on this rapport, he asked for Murtuzamiya's son's bank account.
Murtuzamiya was arrested on November 9 and Amrish was arrested on December 13. They were both held under judicial custody in Kozhikode District Jail.