Three arrested in 'Taandob' piracy case to face interrogation

The pirated copy of the Shakib Khan movie is circulating on several Telegram channels, along with other platforms

Police have secured court orders to interrogate three individuals in custody for allegedly pirating the Shakib Khan starrer “Taandob”.

A Dhaka court has granted police two days to interrogate three individuals in custody in a case linked to the distribution of pirated copies of the Shakib Khan starrer Taandob.

On Wednesday, Dhaka’s Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Zakir Hossain granted the request by police following a petition by the investigating officer in the case.

The three are: YouTuber Tipu Sultan, online portal owner Sadi Sad, alias Sagor, and cinema hall operator Sajedul Islam.

The cyber division of the Detective Branch (DB) arrested Tipu from Noakhali, Sadi from Mymensingh, and Sajedul from Savar on Tuesday.

Taandob, directed by Raihan Rafi, was released in 132 theatres on Eid-ul-Azha. The film features a star-studded cast including Shakib Khan, Jaya Ahsan, Sabila Nur, Afzal Hossain, Shahiduzzaman Selim, Gazi Rakayet, Siam Ahmed, and Afran Nisho.

Within a week of its release, high-quality versions of the movie began circulating on several Telegram channels, eventually spreading to YouTube and other platforms.

In response, the film's producer Shahriar Shakil filed a case with Banani Police Station.

DB Joint Commissioner (South) Nasirul Islam said on Wednesday that the case was initially handled by local police before being transferred to the DB. After taking over the investigation, DB arrested the three named suspects: Tipu, Sadi, and Sajedul.

Apart from the arrests, DB analysed the pirated video links, which led them to the first Telegram channel that leaked the film.

Nasirul said the cyber team is trying to identify the channel’s operators.

He added that hall operator Sajedul named the other two suspects, who had publicly posted about the piracy on social media.