Kalpetta: In a first for the state, the Wayanad Cyber Police have registered a case against an unidentified person for the misuse of Artificial Intelligence (AI) after a fake reel depicting a zipline accident at a Wayanad tourist spot went viral on social media.

The visuals showed a woman and a child stepping onto a zipline and slipping into a valley, followed by the operator—sparking panic among viewers. The video, widely circulated in tourism-related groups, led to a flurry of distress calls to the police, fire force, and zipline operators across the district.

The case was registered suo motu on the direction of District Police Chief Taposh Basumatari. According to the First Information Report filed by the Cyber Police on Thursday night, the AI-generated visuals spread unnecessary fear among the public, especially tourists.

The fake reel was detected during routine social media monitoring by the cyber team. Cyber Police Station Inspector Shaju Joseph filed the suo motu case after confirming the video’s widespread impact.

Inspector Joseph said that the visuals were forwarded to him by SP Basumatari. “After tracking the clip’s movement across platforms, we confirmed its negative impact and registered a case. Henceforth, spreading such visuals will be treated as a punishable offence. We have also launched a campaign against sharing fake AI-generated content on social media,” he said.

The case has been registered under Section 353(1)(b) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) and Section 66(E) of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Section 353(1)(b) pertains to actions provoking or likely to provoke offences between groups or communities and carries a jail term of up to three years. Section 66(E) penalises those who knowingly capture, publish, or transmit private images without consent, with imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to ₹2 lakh, or both.

Police said the video was originally posted by a social media user under the handle ashkarali_reacts, which has since been deleted after the user issued an apology for spreading panic. Investigators are tracing the server and IP address of the device used and expect leads within 48 hours.

The viral visuals came as a shock to Wayanad’s tourism sector, which had only recently started recovering from an extended monsoon season.

Wayanad Tourism Organisation president Sunilkumar M J said, “The first clarifications that the video was fake came from within tourism circles themselves—those who would have been most affected if it were true. This was clearly aimed at sabotaging the district’s economy, which is only now recovering from the Covid-19 slump and the Chooralmala landslides. Strict action should be taken against those attempting to harm our economy.”