Movie piracy kingpin Immadi Ravi arrested on landing in Hyderabad
Hyderabad: iBomma founder Immadi Ravi was arrested in Hyderabad on Friday, immediately after returning from France, marking a breakthrough in the long-standing fight against digital movie piracy in Telangana.
Ravi who runs notorious piracy website iBomma, had been operating from the Caribbean islands, where he managed servers that distributed pirated Telugu and other films soon after their theatrical or OTT release.
His arrest was the result of months of intensive investigation and coordinated efforts by the Cyberabad Police, who intercepted him at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport and took him into custody at Kukatpally. Authorities have frozen nearly Rs 3 crore in his accounts, seized digital devices, and seized fresh pirated content linked to the operation.
The iBomma website had been a major source of financial losses for the Telugu film industry, with estimates suggesting the sector lost over Rs 3,700 crore in 2024 alone due to widespread piracy. Several film producers had filed multiple complaints against the site for uploading pirated HD prints on release days, severely impacting box office revenues and the regional film economy.
Ravi had previously taunted law enforcement by claiming they could “never catch him,” making his capture a significant victory for Telangana’s anti-piracy enforcement efforts. The crackdown on iBomma is part of a wider police effort in Hyderabad targeting movie piracy rings using advanced technology to evade detection, including leveraging content delivery networks to hide servers.
The dramatic arrest of Immadi Ravi reads like a real-life thriller, an elusive kingpin of digital piracy hunted across continents and finally caught upon stepping foot back on home soil. While residing in the Caribbean Islands to evade Indian jurisdiction, Ravi orchestrated the leaking of newly released films online, threatening the livelihood of filmmakers and stakeholders who rely on box office success. His bold defiance of law enforcement and use of sophisticated technologies to mask his operation underscored the challenges police face in combating cybercrime that transcends borders.
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iBomma founder Immadi Ravi was arrested in Hyderabad on Friday, immediately after returning from France, marking a breakthrough in the long-standing fight against digital movie piracy in Telangana.
Ravi who runs notorious piracy website iBomma, had been operating from the Caribbean islands, where he managed servers that distributed pirated Telugu and other films soon after their theatrical or OTT release.
His arrest was the result of months of intensive investigation and coordinated efforts by the Cyberabad Police, who intercepted him at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport and took him into custody at Kukatpally. Authorities have frozen nearly Rs 3 crore in his accounts, seized digital devices, and seized fresh pirated content linked to the operation.
The iBomma website had been a major source of financial losses for the Telugu film industry, with estimates suggesting the sector lost over Rs 3,700 crore in 2024 alone due to widespread piracy. Several film producers had filed multiple complaints against the site for uploading pirated HD prints on release days, severely impacting box office revenues and the regional film economy.
Ravi had previously taunted law enforcement by claiming they could “never catch him,” making his capture a significant victory for Telangana’s anti-piracy enforcement efforts. The crackdown on iBomma is part of a wider police effort in Hyderabad targeting movie piracy rings using advanced technology to evade detection, including leveraging content delivery networks to hide servers.
The dramatic arrest of Immadi Ravi reads like a real-life thriller, an elusive kingpin of digital piracy hunted across continents and finally caught upon stepping foot back on home soil. While residing in the Caribbean Islands to evade Indian jurisdiction, Ravi orchestrated the leaking of newly released films online, threatening the livelihood of filmmakers and stakeholders who rely on box office success. His bold defiance of law enforcement and use of sophisticated technologies to mask his operation underscored the challenges police face in combating cybercrime that transcends borders.
© 2025 All Rights Reserved. Powered by Summit