Hyderabad: Police crack major Telugu movie piracy racket, arrest five
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Hyderabad (PTI): Police on Monday said its cybercrime wing arrested five persons and dismantled a major racket involved in the "illegal distribution of copyrighted films", including recent Telugu releases.
The prime accused, Ashwani Kumar (21) of Patna, was identified as the kingpin behind the leakage of HD movies before their theatrical release.
Police said Kumar had hacked several government websites, including the governments of Bihar and Jharkhand.
“He hacked the main servers of digital media companies, copied HD movies, and distributed them via Telegram channels. He also shared them with gaming and betting organisers,” Hyderabad Police Commissioner C V Anand told reporters.
The arrests follow a comprehensive investigation into the piracy of several recent Telugu films, including 'HIT: The Third Case', 'Single', 'Kuberaa', and 'Hari Hara Veera Mallu', which were uploaded onto illegal platforms, the commissioner said.
Acting on a complaint filed on June 5 by the anti-video piracy cell of the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce (TFCC), police traced pirated HD copies to prominent piracy websites.
Some of these copies were still accessible before the network was taken down.
Police explained that piracy in India operates mainly in two ways—leakage of HD copies from digital service providers, and 'cam releases'—recordings made in theatres on opening day using handheld cameras, smartphones, or hidden devices.
The accused, from Bihar, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh, were arrested between June and August this year.
Cyril Infant Raj Amaladoss (32), a crypto trader from Karur, Tamil Nadu, was identified as the mastermind who orchestrated the racket and coordinated activities between the accused members.
Amaladoss allegedly purchased dedicated virtual machine servers abroad to store pirated movies and run piracy websites and Telegram channels. He also coordinated payments and content uploads, using cryptocurrency to ensure privacy and anonymity.
Police said Kumar joined piracy groups on Telegram and offered pirated HD movies at USD 800 per copy, receiving payment in cryptocurrency.
Amaladoss allegedly recruited others to camcord movies in theatres and upload the pirated content online.
Police said he earned around Rs 2 crore in cryptocurrency since 2020, uploading about 500 pirated films, and received USD 10,000 per month by allowing advertisements of online gaming and betting sites.
In 2023, the Indian entertainment industry suffered estimated losses of Rs 22,400 crore due to piracy, with the Telugu film industry alone incurring Rs 3,700 crore in damages, police said.
Multiple cases have been registered, and the cybercrime wing is continuing the investigation to dismantle the entire piracy network.
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Karnataka tanks hold strong water storage: Minister Boseraju
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Minister N S Boseraju on Tuesday said that minor irrigation tanks across the state are holding good water storage levels, with the 3,788 tanks under the department’s jurisdiction providing life-sustaining water to a large agricultural command area of approximately 4,45,009 hectares.
In a statement, the Minister for Minor Irrigation, Boseraju, said that according to the latest data released by the department, a vast majority of the 3,788 minor irrigation tanks in the state have maintained good water levels.
Detailing the storage status, the report said that even in peak summer, 165 tanks are full.
Additionally, 1,355 tanks have retained more than 51 per cent capacity, 1,143 tanks have water levels up to 50 per cent, and 959 tanks are at roughly 30 per cent storage capacity.
District-wise, Davanagere leads the state in water storage, with 27 tanks remaining full even during summer. Chikkamagaluru follows closely with 46 full tanks, indicating strong water retention.
Other top-performing districts include Hassan, Tumakuru, and Kolar.
Boseraju, who also holds the portfolio of Science and Technology, said 1,184 tanks are being actively filled through 145 tank-filling lift irrigation projects under the Minor Irrigation Department.
He attributed the strong water retention to good monsoon rainfall and effective water management strategies of the government.
“It is encouraging to see such a substantial volume of water stored across our minor irrigation tanks by the end of March, remaining largely intact even as summer progresses. The fact that 1,355 tanks are nearly full and 165 tanks are brimming is a testament to the success of our tank-filling programmes and rejuvenation initiatives,” he said.
“By ensuring a continuous flow of water to these tanks through lift irrigation projects across departments, as well as supplying treated and surface water to the Bayaluseeme districts, we have taken proactive measures to prevent them from drying out during the summer,” the minister said.
According to him, these data points confirm that efforts to build a water-secure Karnataka are yielding strong results at the grassroots level.
“This water wealth preserved in our tanks will bring direct benefits to lakhs of farmers across the 4,45,009-hectare command area,” he added.
