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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Man jumps to death from 22nd floor of posh Noida society; depression suspected
Noida (PTI): A 37-year-old man allegedly died by suicide after jumping from the 22nd floor of a posh residential society in Sector 107 here, police said on Monday.
The incident took place on Sunday in Prateek Edifice Society under the jurisdiction of the Sector-39 police station. The deceased has been identified as Sajjal Mehrotra, a company director who lived in the society with his family.
"On Sunday afternoon, he jumped from the balcony of his flat on the 22nd floor," a police official said.
Family members and security guards rushed him to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him dead, police said, adding that no suicide note has been found.
Prima facie, the deceased was suffering from depression, officials said, adding that other aspects of the case are being investigated.
The body has been sent for post-mortem and further legal formalities are underway.
Police said the man got married about 10 years ago and is survived by his wife and two children. No complaint has been received from the family in connection with the incident.
(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the state’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416.)
