Hyderabad, Sep 29 (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 multiple government websites, including those 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. PTI VVK SJR GDK VVK SSK
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