In a significant crackdown on digital piracy, the Cybercrime police of Hyderabad have achieved a major breakthrough by arresting the alleged mastermind behind an extensive network of illegal movie streaming websites. The operation, which culminated on Monday, targets a piracy syndicate responsible for running more than 65 mirror websites that have inflicted massive financial damage on the Telugu film industry.
The Mastermind and His Operation
The accused, identified as Ravi Emandi, is alleged to have used his technical expertise in web hosting and development to launch a piracy website back in 2019. This initial venture rapidly evolved into a vast network known for uploading newly released films in high-definition quality on the very day of their theatrical release. The network, which included sites like iBomma and Bappam, attracted close to five million monthly users.
To evade law enforcement, Emandi employed sophisticated tactics. He frequently changed domains, used services like Cloudflare for anonymity, and hosted physical servers in countries such as the Netherlands and Switzerland. In a bold move to stay beyond the reach of Indian jurisdiction, he renounced his Indian citizenship and obtained a passport from Saint Kitts and Nevis. During the raid, police recovered a staggering collection of around 21,000 films from his possession.
Financial Exploitation and Industry Impact
The piracy network did more than just leak films. Police investigations revealed that Emandi was diverting lakhs of users from his piracy websites to illegal betting platforms, leading to large-scale financial exploitation of the public. This dual-stream of illegal activity compounded the losses for the film industry and put user data at significant risk.
The arrest follows a comprehensive investigation into the piracy of several new Telugu releases, including 'Kantara Chapter 1' and 'Mirai'. The Anti-Video Piracy Cell of the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce (TFCC) had previously flagged these operations, noting the recurring losses to producers, distributors, and exhibitors.
Industry and Government Reaction
The arrest has been met with widespread appreciation from the Telugu film fraternity. Top personalities including actors Chiranjeevi and Nagarjuna Akkineni, along with director S S Rajamouli, personally met Hyderabad Police Commissioner V C Sajjanar to commend the police efforts.
Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan hailed the development in a post on X, stating that arresting the operator of major piracy websites is a welcome step for an industry suffering from immense losses despite heavy investments.
Producer Daggubati Suresh Babu emphasized the severity of the issue, warning the public that watching pirated content doesn't just hurt the industry but also hands over their personal data to criminals, leading to potential harm.
Police Commissioner Sajjanar confirmed that given the international links of the network, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) would be informed. He also highlighted that the accused had obtained data of 50 lakh subscribers, which could be misused for various cybercrimes.
