UP Class 11 Student Stages Own Kidnapping For ₹1 Lakh To Repay Online Gaming Debt, Uses AI-Generated Injury Photo

Lucknow: A Class 11 student in Uttar Pradesh’s Sant Kabir Nagar allegedly staged his own kidnapping to extract Rs 1 lakh from his businessman father after piling up debt through online gaming. To make the story convincing, the teenager allegedly used an AI-generated image showing what appeared to be a badly injured eye and sent it to his father along with the ransom demand.

The teenager had left his home on Tuesday evening, telling his family that he was going to Sikriganj in Gorakhpur. Instead, he switched off his mobile phone and went into hiding at a friend’s house.

His father received the first WhatsApp message at around 7.39 pm, saying that his son had been kidnapped. A minute later, another message demanded Rs 1 lakh. At around 8.27 pm, another message was sent, pressuring the father to transfer the money online.

When the father said he could not make an online payment and was willing to bring cash, the response was that he would have to pay Rs 2 lakh if he came with cash.

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The messages convinced the businessman that his son had fallen into the hands of kidnappers. He immediately informed the police.

According to SP South Dinesh Kumar Puri, the teenager is a resident of the Dhanghata area of Sant Kabir Nagar and studies in Class 11.

His father is a businessman.

Police said the teenager had become addicted to online gaming and had lost money while playing. His pocket money had run out and he had also borrowed money from friends, leaving him under pressure to repay the debt.

The teenager allegedly then planned his own kidnapping to obtain Rs 1 lakh from his father.

As part of the plan, he switched off his mobile phone. However, he used public Wi-Fi to send the ransom messages on WhatsApp.

This eventually became a crucial clue for investigators.

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Initially, the father approached Dhanghata police after receiving the ransom messages. Police found that the teenager’s location was linked to Sikriganj and advised the family to lodge the complaint there. The father reached Sikriganj police station around midnight, where an FIR for kidnapping was registered.

Despite the teenager’s mobile phone being switched off, police teams used surveillance inputs and the digital trail created through the public Wi-Fi connection to trace him. He was located within about two and a quarter hours at his friend’s house.

During questioning, police discovered that there had been no kidnapping.

The teenager allegedly admitted that he had planned the entire episode to get money from his father and repay his online gaming debts.

The photograph sent to his father was also part of the plan.

Police said the teenager told them that a female friend living in Delhi had helped him create the AI-generated image. The photograph was designed to make it appear that his eye had suffered a serious injury, reinforcing the impression that he had been kidnapped and assaulted.

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The house where the teenager was hiding belonged to a friend who works for a food delivery company.

The businessman has three children, two daughters and a son. Police said the father became angry after learning that his son had fabricated the kidnapping and slapped him.

After questioning, police handed the teenager over to his father.

The case has also exposed how AI-generated images can be used to add credibility to fabricated emergencies. In this instance, the teenager’s attempt to conceal his location failed because his use of public Wi-Fi left a digital trail that helped police track him down.