JioStar piracy complaint leads to Odisha cable raid, FIR and equipment seizure

NEW DELHI: A cable piracy operation in Odisha has been cut off at the source after a complaint by JioStar triggered police action, leading to an FIR, a raid and the seizure of equipment allegedly used to illegally retransmit television channels.

Acting on the complaint, Odisha Police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against a cable operator based in Korei in Jajpur district under Section 303(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, along with Sections 37, 51, 63 and 65 of the Copyright Act, 1957.

Following the FIR, police conducted a raid at the accused’s premises and seized equipment allegedly used for the unauthorised retransmission of television channels. The seizure included nine modulators, 20 Direct-to-Home (DTH) set-top boxes, one optical node and one mixer. The accused has been taken into custody and is being questioned as part of the investigation.

According to the FIR, the operator is accused of unlawfully retransmitting JioStar’s television channels over a cable network while sourcing broadcast feeds through consumer DTH set-top boxes intended exclusively for residential use. The complaint also included electronic evidence that allegedly documented the unauthorised transmission of JioStar channels.

JioStar said post-enforcement monitoring indicates that the illegal retransmission has stopped, with no further instances of piracy detected in the area following the police action.

The case highlights continued collaboration between broadcasters and law enforcement agencies to tackle organised cable piracy, which remains a persistent challenge for the television industry by enabling the unauthorised distribution of premium broadcast content.