Jan Nayakan leak case: 1.2 crore people watched Vijay film illegally, police tell court
Chennai Police told the Madras High Court that the leaked copy of Vijay’s Jana Nayakan was viewed by 1.2 crore people before certification and release. The plea came after the court rejected the bail of two accused in the Jan Nayakan leak case.
Chennai Police on Thursday told the Madras High Court that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph Vijay Jan Naygan The film was leaked before it received certification from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) on 9 April, which was viewed illegally by 12 million people. The plea was made during the hearing of bail pleas filed by two of the 21 accused Jan Naygan Leak issue.
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according to The Hindu In the report, Justice C Kumarappan refused to grant bail to the fourth accused, S Rajini, and the 11th accused, Jayaprakash, keeping in mind the seriousness of the allegations of tampering of evidence in the ongoing investigation. Later the court rejected his bail plea.
According to the prosecution, the main accused, a freelance film editor, had allegedly stolen the film footage from an edit suite using a hard drive. Investigators claimed that he, along with his two brothers, stitched the different clips into a full-length version and uploaded it to Google Drive.
The prosecution alleged that the pirated copy was circulated on piracy websites, including TamilRockers, allowing millions of people to watch the film before its official release. The government also told the court that the producers, KVN Productions, had obtained an interim injunction from the Madras High Court directing Internet service providers to stop unauthorized screening of the film.
Despite those efforts, officials estimated that about 12 million viewers had watched the leaked version before it was removed. Opposing the bail, the prosecution said the two accused were still absconding and custodial investigation was necessary to unearth the financial clues behind the piracy network.
The prosecution also told the court that there were concerns that the accused might tamper with evidence or influence witnesses if released. It said only a preliminary charge sheet had been filed so far and the investigation was still going on before the final charge sheet was submitted.
Apart from the leak controversy, the film is also embroiled in a dispute with CBFC. Originally slated for release on January 9, Jan Naygan It is still awaiting approval from the board and the makers have not announced the new release date yet.