26-year-old from Daund arrested for leaking Chhaava

The accused, Sagar Randhawan, operated his own illegal streaming app, charging users ₹199 per month or ₹700 per year to watch movies, the police said

MUMBAI: The South Cyber police have arrested a 26-year-old man from Daund in Pune district for his alleged involvement in leaking the Bollywood movie Chhaava. The accused, Sagar Randhawan, operated his own illegal streaming app, charging users ₹199 per month or ₹700 per year to watch movies, the police said.

26-year-old from Daund arrested for leaking Chhaava

The accused was arrested weeks after an anti-piracy agency appointed by Maddock Films, the producer of Chhaava, filed a complaint in March flagging 1,818 internet links through which the historical action flick was leaked online. Randhawan was tracked as the owner of one of these links after a technical analysis, said a police officer.

According to the police, Randhawan, a class 12 science graduate, had downloaded the movie from another illegal streaming website and made it available on his app.

“It was available for his subscribers who paid him ₹700 yearly or ₹199 monthly,” said the police officer. “The subscribers were given a link. Once they clicked on it, they were directed to the app where they could watch the movie after entering login credentials provided by him.”

Following his arrest, Randhawan was produced before a court, which remanded him in police custody until April 13, added the officer.

Earlier, Maddock Films had claimed in its complaint that Chhaava, which was released in cinemas on February 14, was being circulated illegally on various digital platforms through 1,818 internet links. This unauthorised circulation violated copyright laws and impacted the film’s theatrical distribution, the complaint added.

“We had registered the case under sections 316 (2) (criminal breach of trust) and 308 (3) (extortion) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023; sections 6AA of the Cinematograph Act, 1952; and sections 43 (penalty and compensation for damage to computer, computer system, etc) and 66 (computer-related offences) of the Information Technology Act,” said the police officer.

Chhaava, starring Vicky Kaushal, is based on the life of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the second ruler of the Maratha empire and the son of the legendary Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.