Thane, Mar 8: Three girls from Miragaon in Thane district of Maharashtra who ran away from their homes have been traced within hours on an out-station train at Khed in Ratnagiri district, police said on Wednesday.

The girls, aged between 11 years to 14 years, were playing in a garden on March 6 evening. As it became late, they thought that their parents will scold them and decided to run away. They reached a nearby railway station and boarded a train, without knowing its destination, a Kashimira police station officer said.

Meanwhile, the parents of the girls lodged a complaint with the police as they failed to return home till late at night.

"Police managed to trace the location of one of the girls as she was carrying a mobile phone and found that they were travelling on Mandovi Express. They were traced at Khed in Ratnagiri district, around 153 km from Thane, on Tuesday. They were brought home safely and reunited with their family members," the officer added.

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New Delhi  (PTI): A Private Member's Bill seeking a clear legal framework for regulation of deepfakes has been introduced in the Lok Sabha.

The Regulation of Deepfake Bill, introduced by Shiv Sena leader Shrikant Shinde in the House on Friday, aims to protect citizens by mandating prior consent from individuals depicted in deepfake content.

"Misuse of deepfakes for harassment, deception and misinformation has escalated, creating an urgent need for regulatory safeguards," Shinde said.

The Bill also lists penalties for offenders creating or disseminating deepfake content with malicious intent.

"With advancements in artificial intelligence and deep learning, deepfake technology has emerged as a significant tool for media manipulation. While the technology has potential applications in education, entertainment and creative fields, it also poses severe risks when misused, threatening individual privacy, national security and public trust," Shinde said in the statement of objects and reasons in the Bill.

The proposed Bill seeks to establish a clear legal framework to govern the creation, distribution and application of deepfakes in India, said Shinde, a three-term Lok Sabha member from Kalyan.

The Bill also seeks to establish the Deepfake Task Force, a dedicated body to combat national security implications and evaluate the influence of deepfakes on privacy, civic participation, and potential election interference.

The task force will collaborate with academic and private sector institutions to develop technologies that detect manipulated content, thereby promoting credibility in digital media.

The Bill also proposes to establish a fund to support public and private sector initiatives in the detection and deterrence of advanced image manipulation.

A Private Member's Bill is a procedure of Parliament that enables lawmakers, who are not ministers, to draw attention to issues that might not be represented in Government Bills or to highlight the issues and gaps in the existing legal framework that require legislative intervention.