Hyderabad Police Arrest iBomma Operator Ravi for Massive Piracy
HYDERABAD: iBomma website operator Immadi Ravi caused extensive damage not only to the film industry but also to society by promoting betting apps, Hyderabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar said on Monday. He said Ravi had been arrested as part of the crackdown on online piracy and illegal betting networks.
Police detail piracy, betting links
Addressing reporters at the Command and Control Centre with actors Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna, director Rajamouli, and producers Dil Raju and Suresh Babu, Sajjanar said four cases were registered against Ravi under the Information Technology Act, Copyright Act and several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Ravi, he said, damaged the film industry by circulating pirated copies of new releases. He also promoted betting apps on the website, pushing many users into debt and, in several cases, suicide.
Sajjanar said Ravi possessed nearly 21,000 pirated films from The Godfather (1972) to recent titles like OG covering Hollywood, Tollywood, Bollywood and several regional industries. He earned about ₹20 crore through piracy, of which ₹3 crore has been seized.
Data risks and global operations
Police said iBomma diverted lakhs of viewers to illegal betting platforms such as 1Win and 1XBet. Ravi had data of nearly 50 lakh subscribers, posing a risk of misuse by cybercriminals. A detailed inquiry is underway to determine who accessed this data.
Ravi used advanced technology to upload films on iBomma on the same day they released in theatres. Police also arrested Duddela Shivaji and Surasala Prashanth in the case.
Sajjanar said iBomma and Bappam TV had been uploading pirated films for years, often within hours of theatrical or OTT release. Cameras inside theatres and screen recordings from OTT platforms were used to copy films. Both websites have now been shut down.
He noted that some social media posts were wrongly suggesting that piracy was not a crime. “Uploading films without permission is an offence under law,” he said, adding that users were being forcibly redirected to illegal betting sites, exposing their personal data to theft. Police have sought seven days’ custody of the accused for further questioning.
‘Catch me if you can’ threat
Sajjanar recalled that Ravi had earlier threatened authorities, boasting that blocking his website would not affect him because he held data of over five crore users. “From another country he challenged police to catch him. Look where he is now. No one can escape the law,” he said.
Police froze ₹3 crore in Ravi’s bank accounts and seized three mobile phones, three laptops, six CPUs, 10 bank passbooks, 35 cheque books and 34 debit and credit cards. Additional Commissioner M Srinivasulu and DCP Dara Kavitha led the Cybercrime Unit investigation.
Foreign citizenship and online network
Sajjanar said Ravi, originally from Visakhapatnam, studied BSc (Computers). He obtained a driving licence and PAN using the name Prahlad Vellala in Maharashtra, and also held a licence in Andhra Pradesh.
He later renounced Indian citizenship and acquired citizenship of Saint Kitts and Nevis, living in France and frequently travelling to Thailand and Dubai. Ravi launched iBomma in 2019 and stored pirated films on servers in the United States, Switzerland and the Netherlands. He purchased 110 domains, and hundreds of crores were routed through cryptocurrency. Police said more members of the racket would be identified soon.
Letters will be sent to the CBI and Enforcement Directorate seeking a deeper probe. Sajjanar warned that those trolling police on social media over the arrests would also be monitored. Cybercrime officers involved in the operation were felicitated.
Film industry voices concern
Chiranjeevi said lakhs of people depended directly and indirectly on the film industry. “It is painful when their hard work is stolen. People should treat cinema as their own and stay away from piracy,” he said.
Rajamouli said the arrest of an accused who had challenged police “felt like a super-hit scene”. He warned that “nothing is truly free the danger behind free content can lead even to death”. He said criminals were misusing pirated films to sell personal data. “With just your name, phone number, Aadhaar and email, cybercriminals can empty accounts or issue threats,” he said.
Suresh Babu said viewers suffer more than filmmakers when piracy spreads. The industry is preparing to adopt advanced technology to prevent piracy, he added.
Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan appreciated Sajjanar’s action, saying piracy gangs were causing severe losses by uploading films on release day. He also praised the drive against betting apps for triggering action in other states.
Websites shut down
Using passwords seized from Ravi, police blocked iBomma, Bappam TV and 65 associated websites. The homepage now displays the message:
“We may be new to you, or you may have followed us from the beginning. Whatever the case, our services have been permanently stopped in your country. We apologise for the disappointment.”
