Download lands Akhilesh in 'PK' piracy row

A social organisation on Friday approached the police seeking registration of a case against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav for allegedly watching a pirated copy of Aamir Khan-starrer “PK”.

The outfit also wrote a letter to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting seeking an inquiry into the matter.

Transparency, Accountability and Human Rights Initiative for Revolution founder Sanjay Sharma claimed in his complaint that Akhilesh, addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, had revealed that he had seen the film on Tuesday night.

Akhilesh had announced at the press conference that “PK” would be shown tax-free in the state. “People had been telling me for many days to watch 'PK'. I downloaded it a few days ago, but only found the time to watch it last (on Tuesday) night. I liked it immediately and decided to make it tax-free so that more people can watch it,” Sharma quoted Akhilesh as saying at the press conference.

“So, it becomes an established fact that Akhilesh Yadav illegally downloaded the film from a website and watched a pirated copy,” claimed Sharma in his complaint.

He said it was a violation of the Copyright Act, 1957, and a cognizable criminal offence.
Yadav's office later said on social media that the controversy was unwarranted.