THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Anti-piracy Cell officials said on Tuesday that they had received vital clues on the source of the leakage of the pre-release copies of the film ‘Premam,’ that were in circulation. The pre-release copies include the first copy submitted to the Censor Board and a second one with corrections suggested by the board.
“The most circulated is the first one submitted to the board. Besides the board, two studios, the producer and some other technical staff had access to it. We are yet to ascertain the source of leakage,” the officials said.
The probe team had inspected the Censor Board regional office and a private studio in the capital. The private studio in Chennai will be inspected next.
First Uploader a Wizard
The Cell officials said they were probing whether the students received the clip from an online pirates’ group. “There have been incidents in the past in which online pirates used minors for uploading pirated copies of new films. This is to weaken the case as the investigation agencies would normally leave the accused after a warning,” they said.
The officials who interrogated the students said the 15-year-old student wholoaded the clip was an internet wizard. “Besides being the member of a major pirates’ group, he has online contacts with expert pirates and technical persons, including some in the US and the UK,” they said.
According to the boys’ statements, Sadiq, the plus-two student, got the clip from a friend in a pen drive. He handed over the same to one of the plus-I students, who in turn gave it to the first accused. The police have launched a probe to book Sadiq’s friend who gave him the clip.