3,000 pirated CDs seized

In a major anti-piracy raid,the Chandigarh Police raided a shop in Sector 22 on a tip-off from the Indian Music Industry and seized more than 3,000 pirated CDs and DVDs valued in lakhs.

In a major anti-piracy raid,the Chandigarh Police raided a shop in Sector 22 on a tip-off from the Indian Music Industry (IMI) and seized more than 3,000 pirated CDs and DVDs valued in lakhs.

The Crime Branch team swooped on cabin number 33 on the second floor of SCO number 1100-1101 in Sector 22-B and found a huge stock of pirated CDs. The shop had a huge store of pirated CDs,MP3s and DVDs of films,which were being sold openly in the market, a police officer said.

Though the shopowners,Harvinder Singh alias Khanna and Jatinder Singh alias Billa,managed to escape,Raj Kumar,an employee of the shop,was taken into custody by the police. An FIR under various Sections of the Indian Copyright Act has been lodged and the police are on the look-out for the actual owners.

IMI officials remarked that in recent times,Chandigarh has become a hub of dealers of pirated CDs and unauthorized downloading of copyright music was rampant. They added that Chandigarh-based establishments were not only supplying pirated CDs to small vendors in Chandigarh but also in the adjoining areas of Punjab.

Commenting on the raid in an press release,Savio DSouza,secretary general of IMI,said: The Indian music industry is suffering huge losses because of piracy. That not only hurts the commercial interests of licensed manufacturers but also has the potential of damaging the countrys economic and social fabric. Such raids not only prove beneficial for the industry but also boost the morale of artists.

According to IMI,the physical format of piracy alone amounts to a loss of Rs 600 crore annually to the Indian Music Industry.

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