Gurgaon: A German singer, AI-generated videos and an alleged promise of marriage — all these preceded a fraud case against a 36-year-old man, who died in Bhondsi jail on Monday. Meanwhile, the family and friends of Akhil Maurya have disputed the allegations made by an Italian jewellery designer. They claimed that Italian woman Daniela de Pietri had approached Maurya first and sought a fair investigation into the case.The woman had travelled to the city on Sept 28 to lodge a complaint against Maurya. She had contacted ACP (Cyber Crime) Gaurav Phogat through Instagram in July and alleged that Maurya had befriended her online, promised to marry her and sought money in the name of creating AI videos. According to the police sources, the money, which was sent through Western Union in Aug and Sept, mentioned that the purpose of the transaction was for “family support or living expenses”.An autopsy was conducted under a magistrate’s supervision on Tuesday. “The cause of death will be ascertained after the autopsy report,” a police officer said. Police sources had earlier said that Maurya suffered a cardiac arrest on Monday morning. “His condition deteriorated, prompting jail authorities to take him to the hospital,” they said.According to the complaint lodged by Italian woman Daniela, she transferred €450 through Western Union on Aug 4 and another €450 on Sept 10. After conversion and deductions, Rs 67,297 was credited to Maurya’s bank account through Muthoot Finance, police said. Family members have questioned why he would ask for money from her when he didn’t ask from them. They also alleged that the woman had threatened Maurya over his work for others. They have alleged that the complainant’s social media page was fake and AI-generated and disputed that she was Italian.A friend of Maurya, requesting anonymity, said, “One can ask anyone in the area. Residents would say that he was one of the most innocent people around. He had lost his job but had earlier worked for a private company, had a handsome income and held several cyber security certifications. He never used to ask anyone for money.”According to police sources, Maurya had created AI-generated videos for German singer Nancy Noir, whom both he and Daniela followed on social media. Sources claimed that Noir and Maurya later approached the woman for a collaboration, which Daniela accepted. “However, a disagreement allegedly arose between Maurya and Noir over Daniela being featured in the videos created by him. Maurya continued making videos with the Italian woman without charging her. He also promised to marry her, though the woman later accused him of manipulating and emotionally abusing her,” a source said.Daniela has alleged that Maurya also used to make AI videos for Noir without charging her for it. “She had alleged that Maurya demanded money from her continuously and threatened that he would empty her bank account as he was a cyber security expert. He used to demand money for videos but did not use to send her the videos in return,” an investigating officer said.Maurya, who hails from UP’s Azamgarh, had been living in a paying guest accommodation in Sukhrali’s Sector 17. He had worked in technical support at a private company before losing his job in July 2025. Arrested on Oct 1, he was sent to judicial custody the next day.
