Forest Dept says youth created pic as prank
The AI generated picture of a leopard sighted at a nursery in Fatorda close to the South Goa District Collectorate.
MARGAO
Call it a prank or plain mischief — an AI-generated image showing a leopard prowling near a plant nursery in Fatorda, just metres away from the South Goa District Collectorate, sent forest officials scrambling late Sunday night.
This marks the third such incident in Salcete taluka where artificially generated leopard images have been circulated on social media, with earlier cases reported from Velim and Cuncolim. Forest officials have termed all three as “pranks or mischief” meant to create unnecessary panic among residents.
In the latest case, officials rushed to the plant nursery after a media report claimed a leopard had been sighted there. On arrival, they found a few people staying in hut-like structures nearby. Initially taking the report seriously, the officials questioned those present. They were told that the supposed eyewitness to the leopard sighting was asleep inside one of the huts.
When the individual was asked to step out and explain what had happened, he claimed that someone else had clicked the photograph. His statement raised suspicions, prompting officials to check his mobile phone — only to discover that the image had been deleted. Further questioning revealed that a youngster from Uttar Pradesh had created the AI-generated image as a prank, unaware of the potential fear and confusion it could cause in the locality.
Forest officials seized the mobile phone and instructed the youth to report to the Forest Department office on Monday for an inquiry.
At Cuncolim, a similar AI-generated picture showing a leopard near the gate of a residential property had been circulated earlier, while another fake sighting at Velim also turned out to be a prank following inquiry.
