Gujarat’s most prominent cities, including Surat and Vadodara, are under the scanner of private investigating agencies, as they are fast emerging as piracy hubs in home entertainment.

Unable to curb the thickening piracy cobweb, big players like Moser Baer, Eros International, Studio 18 and UTV Software Communication have hired the services of private investigating agency A A Khan and Associates for the first time.

Headed by Mumbai Police’s former Anti-Terrorist Squad chief, A A Khan, the agency was hired by the companies last month and preliminary investigations have revealed some hard facts about Gujarat.

“Some of the major cities of Gujarat are playing a key role in strengthening the piracy network of DVDs and CDs of latest Bollywood movies. The industry has suffered a loss of Rs 2,000 crore due to the illegal activity and cities like Surat and Vadodara are developing on the lines of Mumbai as the biggest centres of this crime,” said Khan in a telephonic interview.

Thirty-four raids have been conducted in Gujarat and Maharashtra since December 26, 2008, with the police confiscating DVDs and CDs worth Rs 95 lakh.

The modus operandi behind piracy remains the same. Using digital technology, the pirates make several copies of a new film and distribute them in the remotest district of the state in no time. The result: CDs of Slumdog Millionaire were available before its India release; DVDs of latest blockbuster Ghajini were available in the market much before the release of its original version.

... contd.