Assam Cyber Police Crack Down on ‘Roi Roi Binale’ Piracy: Accused Arrested

Guwahati: In a major crackdown against online piracy, the cybercrime wing of the Guwahati region arrested a 28-year-old Rafiqul Islam. The accused is a resident of Lakhipur in Goalpara district. Rafiqule has been detained for uploading several scenes of Roi Roi Binale, the last cinematic project of late singer-actor Zubeen Garg. He uploaded the clips onto his YouTube channel ‘Rafiqul R Blog’.

The film's producer, Shyamantak Gautam, in a complaint lodged with the Cyber Police Station, Panbazar, informed the police that the film was being uploaded by unauthorised persons within days of its release.

The film was released amidst much public interest in view of its essence as a tribute to Zubeen Garg's works. The accused is now being interrogated as part of the ongoing investigation into the network behind the digital leak.

At a news conference, the film's director, Rajesh Bhuyan, called the piracy "a betrayal of Zubeen Garg's dream" and urged viewers to enjoy the movie in theatres rather than through illegal channels. In the meantime, the state government intervened, with the Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma instructing the police to identify and prosecute those who leaked the movie.

Industry experts view the piracy as something that may result in huge losses to the Assamese film industry and will discourage efforts to promote regional cinema. A complaint filed with the CID-Cyber section includes digital logs, screenshots and metadata that ostensibly link several YouTube channels and Facebook profiles to the distribution of the unauthorised film.

Officials have appealed to the public to report any suspicious uploads and cooperate with investigations. Meanwhile, filmmakers are stepping up efforts to safeguard their content and raise awareness about the damage that piracy inflicts not only economically, but culturally, on the regional film ecosystem.

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