Bhubaneswar: Police have detained a youth for circulating an AI-generated image of a tiger on social media and claiming that he had spotted the big cat in the locality. The youth has been identified as Srikant Dhinda of Saudia village under Balichandrapur police limits.
According to police, Dhinda claimed on Thursday afternoon that he had spotted a tiger near a sugarcane field outside the village and had captured its photo on his mobile phone. He also circulated images of the tiger and its pugmarks on social media.
The claim triggered panic among villagers, who immediately alerted the police and the Forest Department fearing a big cat movement in the area.
A team from Balichandrapur police station along with Forest Department officials rushed to the village, spoke to locals and launched a search in the surrounding areas. During questioning, Dhinda admitted that he had created and circulated AI-generated images of a tiger and its pugmarks. There was no actual sighting.
Police said the youth was detained for creating public panic and spreading misinformation. Further investigation is underway.
Officials have urged people not to share unverified wildlife images and to inform authorities directly in case of any genuine sighting.
