'Chhaava' Film Piracy Case: Youth Arrested From Pune For Sharing 1818 Illegal Links

Mumbai: In a major crackdown on digital piracy, the South Cyber Police Station, Mumbai, has arrested a 26-year-old man from Pune in connection with the illegal distribution of the Hindi film ‘Chhaava’. The case, registered under Crime No. 23/2025, stems from a complaint filed by Rajat Rahul Haksar, CEO of August Entertainment.

According to the complaint, between February 14 and March 20, 2025, unknown individuals allegedly circulated 1818 pirated links of the film Chhaava across multiple platforms including WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, YouTube, and Google, violating copyright laws and causing substantial financial losses to August Entertainment and Maddock Films.

A case has been registered under multiple sections, including Sections 316(2) and 318(3) of the BNS, Sections 51, 63, and 65(A) of the Copyright Act, Sections 6AA and 6AB of the Cinematograph Act, and Sections 66 and 63(j) of the Information Technology Act.

During the technical investigation, police identified Sagar Manik Randhavan (26), a resident of Ravanwadi, Randhavan Vasti, Daund Taluka, Pune, as the prime suspect. He had purchased a domain — skymovieshd.tech — from a hosting service and uploaded the pirated film on it. He also developed a mobile application under the same name, through which he was illegally streaming and offering downloads of Chhava and other recently released films in exchange for money.

On April 10, 2025, the South Cyber Police team, led by PSI Rupali Chaudhary, with assistance from Daund Police, apprehended the accused and brought him to Mumbai. He was presented before a holiday court and has been remanded to police custody till April 13, 2025. Authorities are continuing their probe and searching for others linked to this piracy network. Technical investigations are ongoing.