Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police bust movie piracy racket, arrest five

Hyderabad: In a major crackdown, Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police busted a movie piracy racket and arrested five people hailing from Bihar, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh.

Hyderabad Police Commissioner C V Anand said piracy was being carried out mainly through two methods. The first involved the leakage of high-definition copies of films from digital service providers, while the second method relied on “cam releases”, where individuals recorded films during theatrical screenings using camcorders, smartphones, or hidden devices.

These pirated versions were then uploaded and circulated on popular piracy websites such as 1TamilBlasters, 5MoviezRulz, and 1TamilMV. Preliminary forensic watermarking revealed that several links originated from theatre leaks.

The bust followed an extensive investigation into the piracy of several high-profile Telugu films, including HIT: The Third Case, #Single, Kuberaa, and Hari Hara Veera Mallu, which were uploaded online within hours of their theatrical release.

The probe began after Yarra Manindra Babu, representing the Anti-Video Piracy Cell of the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce (TFCC), lodged a complaint.

He reported that films such as #Single (released May 9, 2025) and HIT: The Third Case (released May 1, 2025) were pirated and illegally uploaded online on their opening day.

Based on the complaint, a case was registered under relevant provisions of the BNS, the IT Act, the Copyright Act, and the Cinematograph Act.

The arrested accused were identified as Ashwani Kumar (21) and Arsalan Ahmed (23), both natives of Bihar, Cyril Infant Raj Amaladoss (32), a crypto trader from Tamil Nadu, Sudhakaran (31), also from Tamil Nadu and Jana Kiran Kuma (29), an AC technician from Amalapuram in East Godavari. The arrests were made between August and September 2025.

Following the arrests, the Hyderabad City Police convened a high-level meeting with members of the Telugu film fraternity, including leading actors, producers, exhibitors, and digital distribution partners on Monday.

The meeting was aimed at briefing stakeholders about the investigation, methods used by pirates, and the precautions needed to combat piracy.

During the session, police officials explained how piracy syndicates either record films inside theatres or hack into digital distribution systems to steal high-quality copies before release.

They further revealed that piracy portals such as TamilMV, Tamil Blasters, and Movierulz monetize their operations through sponsorships from online gaming and betting operators.

Additionally, pirated content is circulated via torrent sites, Telegram channels, and illegal streaming platforms. Police also warned that user data harvested from these portals is exploited for cybercrimes such as fraud and digital extortion.

Commissioner Anand urged all stakeholders to implement robust cyber-security measures, conduct regular audits of digital delivery systems, strengthen access controls, and maintain strict custody of content. Theatre owners were advised to enhance surveillance, restrict recording devices, and adopt advanced anti-piracy practices.