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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UP Cong holds statewide protest seeking probe into FIR against Swami Avimukteshwaranand
Lucknow (PTI): The Uttar Pradesh Congress on Wednesday staged a statewide protest demanding a fair and transparent inquiry into the FIR lodged against Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati and those who filed the complaint against him.
In a statement issued here, the party said memorandums addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi were submitted through district magistrates in all districts of the state.
Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Manish Hindvi told PTI that the memorandums were handed over through the district administration in all 75 districts.
In the memorandum, the party alleged that Saraswati and his disciples were "unnecessarily harassed and humiliated" by police on the occasion of Amavasya and were prevented from taking a ritual bath (at the Magh Mela). It further alleged that some disciples were manhandled and taken to a police station.
The memorandum also claimed that an FIR was later registered against Saraswati, his disciple Swami Mukundanand Brahmachari and several unidentified persons in a sexual harassment case. It termed the case a "conspiracy" aimed at tarnishing the seer's reputation.
Citing Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution, the memorandum stated that these provisions guarantee religious freedom and the right of religious denominations to manage their own affairs.
It described the position of shankaracharya held by Saraswati as "one of the highest spiritual posts in Sanatan tradition" and alleged that the entire episode appeared to have been "orchestrated in a planned manner".
"We request that the background of the persons who got the FIR registered be investigated in a transparent manner by a retired high court judge and strict action be taken against them," the memorandum said.
It also sought a "fair and transparent probe" into the allegations levelled against Saraswati so that the truth could be established.
Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai had told reporters in Varanasi after meeting Saraswati that the party stood firmly with him.
The Congress said it would continue to press for an impartial inquiry into the entire episode.
On February 21, an FIR was lodged in Prayagraj against Saraswati and his disciple Mukundanand Brahmachari on charges of sexually abusing two persons, including a minor, over the past year at a gurukul and religious congregations, including the recently concluded Magh Mela.
Days after he was booked, Saraswati had said on Monday that he would not oppose his arrest and asserted that the "fabricated story" would be exposed sooner or later.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Saraswati alleged that criminals rule in Uttar Pradesh, level allegations and influence investigations, as he denied having any contact with the two persons for whose alleged sexual abuse he has been booked.
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