Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police arrested a 29-year-old man from East Godavari, Andhra Pradesh for his role in a movie piracy operation. Over the past year and a half, he recorded and leaked around 40 movies in various cinemas across Hyderabad.
The man, Jana Kiran Kumar, an AC Technician living in NGOs Colony, Vanasthalipuram, Ranga Reddy District, was caught by the police. The arrest followed a complaint from Yarra Manindra Babu of the Anti-Video Piracy Cell of the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce (TFCC), Hyderabad. He reported the illegal online release of the Telugu film ‘Single’ on the same day it premiered on May 9, 2025. Pirated copies appeared on popular sites like 1TamilBlasters, 5MoviezRulz, and 1TamilMV. Initial forensic checks suggested the leak came from a theater. The TFCC cited a massive loss of Rs 3,700 crore to the Telugu film industry in 2024 due to piracy and called for urgent measures against piracy networks.
In response, police filed a case under various sections of the IT Act, Copyright Act, and Cinematograph Act. Investigations revealed that the accused found a meme about the piracy group 1TamilMV and contacted them through their recruitment email. He proposed to provide pirated Telugu films.
To avoid detection, he shifted communications to Telegram, sharing his ID there. His task was to record new releases, earning USD 300–400 in cryptocurrency per movie. Some films he recorded include ‘Pellikani Prasad’, ’14 Days Love’, ‘Thandel’, ‘Game On’, ‘Kismat’, and ‘Rajadhani Files’.
A senior Cyber Crime officer stated that Kiran bought tickets online and secretly recorded movies using a phone hidden in his shirt pocket. He then sent the movie files via Telegram and received payments in Bitcoin, converting them into Indian Rupees using platforms like ZebPay and Coin DCX.
The Cyber Crime police emphasized that movie piracy is a severe offense under the Copyright Act, 1957, and the Cinematograph Act. Violators face up to three years in prison, fines up to one lakh rupees, or both, with additional fines for continued offenses.
Police urged the public to avoid participating in or supporting piracy and to report any suspicious activities to local authorities or the cybercrime police.
