HYDERABAD: The Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce has lodged a fresh complaint alleging that piracy websites operating under the names " iBomma" and "Bappam TV" were illegally streaming newly released Telugu films and OTT content within hours of release, triggering concern across the film industry.

Acting on the complaint, Hyderabad cybercrime police registered a criminal case against unidentified operators of the websites "what-is-reviews.blogspot.com" and "ibommedia.com". Police accused them of movie piracy and promoting illegal online betting platforms through embedded advertisements.

According to the complaint filed by Manindra Babu Yarra, project head of the anti-video piracy cell of the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce, the websites allegedly offered free access to copyrighted films in multiple languages, including Telugu, Tamil, Hindi and Bengali.

The complaint alleged that the accused used the piracy brands "iBomma" and "Bappam" to attract viewers and circulate newly released theatrical and OTT films without permission from copyright holders.

Sophisticated piracy network alleged

The Film Chamber alleged that the operators created a sophisticated piracy network using Google's Blogspot platform as a front-end portal while embedding customised streaming players for seamless playback of pirated movies.

Investigators reportedly found anti-tracking and anti-debugging mechanisms on the websites, indicating attempts to evade detection.