MUMBAI: Antipiracy raids conducted by Mumbai Police along with enforcement agencies from AACT have seized over 1,42,000 pirated discs in last six months, estimated to be worth more than Rs 14.20 million (Rs 1.42 crore).

More than 50 raids have been conducted at various places across Mumbai, Thane & Ahmedabad during this period, and close to 90 arrests have been made as a part of the operations.

Most of the last few raids conducted by AACT have been initiated based on information provided by common people. The participation from the public is an encouraging sign for AACT.

Initiated by the Alliance Against Copyright Theft (AACT), these raids are the film industry’s effort to curb movie piracy which have been severely impacting the earnings of all movies. Several raids have been planned in sync with the theatrical release of movies to restrain pirated copies of the new release from flooding the market.

Over the past few days, a joint team of the Mumbai Police and AA Khan & Associates have conducted three consecutive raids seizing more than 5300 discs of the latest Hollywood and Bollywood releases worth more than Rs 5.3 lakhs.

The accused are likely to be booked under sections 51, 52(A), 63, 68(A) of Copyright Act along with sections 292A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Reliance Big Entertainment vice president Sanjay Tondon says, “AACT is dealing with this menace seriously and with a heavy hand with great positive support from the Social Service Branch of the Mumbai Police as also through the various local police stations. Over the past three months of limited operations in Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai, Piracy has seen a drop of 20 to 30 per cent. Moreover, since the time the toll-free number is launched even the common man can actively participate in curbing this crime. The purpose of AACT is to seriously go after the pirates and make them understand that AACT members are no more going to tolerate this menace.”