HYDERABAD: Immadi Ravi, the prime accused behind the iBomma/Bappam film piracy network, was found to have collected the personal data of nearly five million users and earned around Rs 20 crore through illegal activities. With the proceeds, he purchased plots and flats and maintained a balance of Rs 3.5 crore in his bank account, which has now been frozen by the police. He was arrested on November 15 upon his arrival in Hyderabad. Ravi’s website contained around 21,000 movies – from The Godfather (1972) to OG (2025), spanning Hollywood, Bollywood and Tollywood content.
The accused’s websites recorded over five million users per month, and a significant portion of them ended up registering on betting platforms, eventually losing substantial amounts of money.
Revealing details at a press conference on Monday, Hyderabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar warned that the personal data amassed by Ravi could be misused by cybercriminals and financial fraudsters. The police will investigate who accessed or exploited this data, he added. Recent movies such as OG, Mirai, Dude and Kantara: A Legend Chapter-1 were among the pirated films recovered from Ravi’s hard drives.
The accused was also found diverting lakhs of users from piracy websites to illegal betting platforms such as 1win, 1xbet and others, a criminal operation that led to massive financial exploitation of the public. By clicking on the website two to three times, users were automatically redirected to these gaming platforms.
According to the Commissioner, movies released in theatres in the morning would appear on the illegal iBomma platform by the same evening. Ravi, a native of Visakhapatnam and a BSc (Computers) graduate, gained significant expertise in web designing before launching iBomma. He also fraudulently obtained driving licences and a PAN card under the name V Prahlad Kumar, demonstrating a clear criminal mindset, Sajjanar said.
Ravi reportedly obtained citizenship of St Kitts and Nevis, a Caribbean nation, and travelled extensively to France, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United States. He operated servers from multiple countries and purchased about 110 domains. Whenever one domain was blocked, another would immediately be activated to continue the piracy operations. He used advanced technologies and Telegram channels to promote his network.
Sajjanar said all individuals who supported Ravi in the piracy racket would soon be investigated. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, when people stayed indoors and relied heavily on OTT platforms, Ravi took advantage of the situation to expand his illegal business, the Commissioner said.
He urged the public to avoid visiting piracy websites, not only because it is a crime but also because such sites pose a serious threat to personal data. Referring to Ravi’s earlier challenge to the police – “catch me if you have the guts” – Sajjanar said that the law ultimately takes its own course.
From the accused, the police seized three mobile phones, pen drives, laptops and Rs 3 crore in cash. Ravi had opened nearly 35 bank accounts, and the police will seek transaction details from the respective banks.
Several film industry personalities, including producer Dil Raju, actor Chiranjeevi and director Rajamouli, attended the press meet and appealed to the public not to encourage piracy. Chiranjeevi said piracy causes severe direct and indirect losses to the film industry. Actor Nagarjuna said that even one of his relatives was digitally arrested. He added that Ravi might have earned crores of rupees, not just Rs 20 crore.
Police have already booked Ravi under the IT Act and Copyright laws. Apart from film piracy, he also promoted betting apps, which led to many people losing both money and their lives. Ravi had been operating the iBomma website since 2019 until the police recently shut it down.
Rejecting rumours that Ravi was arrested while visiting Hyderabad to sign divorce papers, Sajjanar clarified that the police have a strong intelligence network and acted independently in apprehending him.
Key facts
THE PRIME ACCUSED
Immadi Ravi (39) – Citizen of Saint Kitts and Nevis
Duddela Shivajee (27) – Website developer, a native of Udayagiri, Nellore
Susarla Prashanth (27) – Private employee, Maharashtra
CASE HISTORY
ER Infotech founded by Ravi in 2010, offering domain registration, hosting and web development
Conceived the idea of a free high-quality movie-streaming website monetised through ads
iBomma streamed films and web series 1–2 days after release, drawing family audiences at home
Superior video quality made it one of the most popular piracy platforms, with 5 million users/month
Multiple iBomma domains repeatedly blocked by the Piracy Cell, leading to rapid domain switching
Ravi designed/managed 900+ websites; launched iBomma in 2019 and Bappam in 2022
Operated using physical servers in Amsterdam and Switzerland
Registered 110 domains (iBomma/BappamTV related) via Porkbun
SEIZURES MADE
Rs 3 crore frozen in bank accounts
Mobile phones: 3
Laptops: 3
CPUs: 6
HDDs, SSDs, pen drives: 15
Bank passbooks: 10
Cheque books: 35
Debit/credit cards: 34
POLICE ADVISORY
Citizens are urged to use only official OTT platforms and report suspicious sites or activity to cybercrime helpline 1930 or website www.cybercrime.gov.in