Pune man charged after allegedly using an AI tool to forge a PMPML bus pass to avoid paying fares
Hadapsar police in Pune charged an MTech job aspirant with cheating and forgery after he was caught travelling with a fake PMPML bus pass that police say was made with AI. Police said he uploaded an old pass image to an AI tool and told it to replicate the ink colour, font and signatures of PMPML officials, then printed it. A conductor grew suspicious about the paper's feel and quality, and a PMPML ticket inspector lodged the complaint. Police suspect he may have used fake passes before.
What the AI did
Police allege that a man used an AI tool to make a fake PMPML bus pass by uploading an image of an old pass and instructing the tool to copy the ink colour, font and signatures of PMPML officials, then printing the result. It has not been reported which AI tool was used.
First reported October 24, 2026 · Added to the register November 2, 2026 · 1 source
- Affected
- Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal (PMPML)
- When it happened
- Not stated in the sources
- First reported
- October 24, 2026
What this means for you
Could this affect you?
If you issue passes, tickets or vouchers that staff check by eye. Public transport operators and any business whose printed or on-screen passes, tickets or vouchers are checked visually could be reached the same way, because AI tools can copy fonts, ink colours and signatures.
What to check
- Stop relying on visual inspection of passes alone.
- Add verifiable elements such as QR codes to passes and tickets.
- Validate passes through an app or a check against a back-end system.
- Train inspectors to escalate suspicious documents.
Areas of your AI programme this touches
Every fact and its source (4)
- ChargesMTech job aspirant charged with cheating and forgery“Hadapsar police charged an MTech job aspirant with cheating and forgery”[1]
- How the AI tool was usedOld pass image uploaded to AI tool to replicate ink colour, font and signatures“uploaded an old pass image to an AI tool and instructed it to replicate the ink colour, font and signatures of PMPML officials”[1]
- DetectionConductor suspicious about paper's feel and quality“the conductor became suspicious about the paper’s feel and quality”[1]
- Police suspicionMay have used fake passes earlier“We suspect that he may have used fake passes earlier as well”[1]
Sources
- Man charged for making fake PMPML pass using AItimesofindia.indiatimes.com · October 24, 2026
How this record is classified. Severity M (2/5): harm to individuals, or a policy breach with limited reach. OECD level: incident, an event in which an AI system led to actual harm. Evidence: Confirmed, meaning a company, official or court statement.
The facts in At a glance and in Every fact and its source are quoted from the sources listed. The summary, What the AI did and What this means for you are written from those sources and checked against them automatically before publication. Records reflect what has been disclosed, not everything that has happened. Incidents are found through news feeds and the GDELT Project.
