Premam piracy: Probe into role of corporate houses

Thiruvananthapuram: Home minister Ramesh Chennithala said in the Assembly on Wednesday that the probe into the leak of ‘Premam’ print would examine whether corporate houses were involved in the conspiracy to upload the blockbuster movie on the internet.

The home minister’s remarks comes in the backdrop of allegations that the copy of the film was smuggled out of the editing suite of a newly formed company that owns theatres and offers a range of film-related services.

Mr Chennithala said the Anti-Piracy Cell, which is handling the investigation, had been strengthened with the inclusion of subject experts in the probe team. He said that an IPS officer, Pratheesh Kumar, has been appointed to the cell as part of the strengthening process.

The home minister said the log details from Vismayas Studios and the Censor Board office were taken and compared with the pirated version in the custody of the cell.

CPM’s S. Sarma, while raising the issue as a submission, said the government should trace the conspiracy behind the crime. “They should not allow the real culprits to escape by arresting some schoolchildren,” Sarma said.

He said when the trailer of Vijay-starrer ‘Puli’ was uploaded, the Tamil Nadu police came to the state the very next day and arrested the culprit. “Such alacrity is not seen in our police,” he said.