It is already known that the Hyderabad Cyber Crime police have arrested the iBomma operator and admin Ravi Immadi. After a long battle between the police and piracy websites, the authorities have finally achieved a major victory as they shut down the main piracy website, iBomma.
About a month ago, the police arrested one of the biggest piracy networks in the country. During that time, Hyderabad Police Commissioner C.V. Anand stated that due to piracy, the Telugu film industry suffered losses of nearly ₹3,700 crore in just the year 2024. He also warned that websites like iBomma would not be spared, no matter what technology they use, and said that international organizations would also be involved to track down such offenders.
Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police Target Piracy Websites
Film piracy has become a hot topic in both Telugu states. The Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police successfully arrested the country’s largest movie piracy gang. During the investigation, they issued a warning to the pirated website iBomma. However, iBomma created a sensation by issuing threats to the police and making harsh comments about the film industry, including actors’ remuneration and movie budgets.
iBomma gave a warning to the Police, but they won in the end
But just like a scene from a movie, the same police force that iBomma tried to intimidate eventually arrested its operator/admin, Ravi Immadi, marking a decisive win for law enforcement.
On October 7, the Cyber Crime Police arrested Immadi, who was uploading newly released films and OTT content to the iBomma website within minutes of their release. The police also froze ₹3 crore spread across three of his bank accounts.
The Anti-Piracy Team of the Telugu film industry had earlier complained to the Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police that new movies were being recorded directly from theatres and uploaded on iBomma. They reported that the Indian film industry suffered losses of ₹22,400 crore in 2023 due to piracy, while the Telugu film industry alone lost ₹3,700 crore in 2024.
Police arrest the iBomma admin, and many details are expected to come out
Taking the case seriously, the Cyber Crime officials launched an intensive investigation. Based on information provided by other arrested suspects, they gathered detailed data about iBomma admin Ravi Immadi. They kept him under surveillance for nearly three months. It was discovered that he had been living in the Caribbean Islands while operating the iBomma site remotely. Recently, the police learned that he had returned to his house in Kukatpally, Hyderabad, after flying in from France.
Acting swiftly, the police raided the location and arrested him. He was then produced before the Nampally court. Officials have reportedly collected key information from him, and the names of more individuals involved in the network are expected to surface soon.