“Tamannaah Bhatia Summoned by Maharashtra Cyber Department in Alleged Illegal IPL Streaming Case”
In Short
- Tamannaah Bhatia summoned by Maharashtra Cyber department on April 29
- Case pertains to illegal broadcast of IPL 2023 on Fairplay app
- Actor Sanjay Dutt was also summoned this week
The Maharashtra Cyber department has summoned actor Tamannaah Bhatia in connection with a case involving the illegal broadcast of the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on the Fairplay app, a subsidiary of the Mahadev online gaming and betting application.
Tamannaah, renowned for her performances in films such as ‘Baahubali’, is scheduled to appear before the department on April 29.
This development comes after rapper and singer Badshah was questioned earlier in the same case. Additionally, actor Sanjay Dutt was summoned this week on Tuesday, although he has requested more time to comply with the department’s summons.
These celebrities, including Tamannaah Bhatia, had reportedly promoted the Fairplay app for watching IPL matches, despite the app not possessing official broadcasting rights.
This unauthorized streaming resulted in significant financial losses for the official IPL broadcasters.
The case stems from an FIR filed in September of the previous year following a complaint lodged by Viacom18, the entity holding Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) for streaming IPL matches.
The complaint alleged that the Fairplay app, associated with the betting platform, was illegally streaming IPL matches, causing over Rs 100 crore in losses for Viacom18.
As a result of the FIR, several prominent figures, including Badshah, Sanjay Dutt, and Jacqueline Fernandez, among others, were called in for questioning. In December 2023, an employee of the betting app was arrested in connection with the case.
The summoning of Tamannaah Bhatia signifies the ongoing investigation into the alleged involvement of celebrities in promoting an illegal streaming platform, shedding light on the serious implications of unauthorized broadcasting in the digital realm.