The Chevayur Police arrested Congress leader N Subrahmanian on Saturday for circulating AI-generated images of Sabarimala gold theft accused Unnikrishnan Potty and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. A police team visited Subrahmanian’s residence on Saturday morning to record his statement, and later decided to take him to the police station for further interrogation. He was later released on bail.

Subrahmanian denied the charges, asserting that the images were authentic. He told the media that despite the CPM state secretary’s denial, it was clear that the Chief Minister was indeed present at the event. "There are several images from the same programme, and I’ve only shared a few. (BJP state president) Rajeev Chandrasekhar also posted the same image on November 29. Why wasn’t action taken against him? The case against me was suo motu; no complaint was filed. The Chevayur CI told me it was based on department instructions," he asked.

Subrahmanian also questioned the motives behind the case and implied a potential nexus between CPM and BJP, claiming, "The government is trying to silence me." On December 25, Subrahmanian posted three images on Facebook showing the CM alongside Potty at a public event, captioning them, "For those who think these images are AI-generated."

Speaking to the media in Delhi, AICC general secretary K C Venugopal condemned the arrest, comparing it to the capture of a murder accused. "Nobody opposes the law, but what was the need for such a dramatic arrest? This is reminiscent of the tactics used by Amit Shah and Modi at the Centre. Meanwhile, D Mani remains at large. Why hasn't the police apprehended him?" Venugopal questioned, accusing the police of being used for political purposes in the state.

Meanwhile, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the gold theft has extended its probe to Tamil Nadu in an effort to locate a businessman named D Mani. His name surfaced after Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala voluntarily provided information to the SIT, based on details from his friend, an NRI businessman.

On Friday, the probe team questioned a man named D Mani, who denied any involvement in the theft. He claimed that his number was registered under a different name and was misused.