EXCLUSIVE: Gujarat police, Star India bust ₹700 crore IPTV racket streaming Pakistani channels
IPTV service “BOS” allegedly reached 5 million subscribers, siphoning premium TV—including Pakistani news and soap operas—before cyber-crime investigators traced the streams and arrested its Jalandhar-based operator.
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In a major crackdown on piracy, Gujarat’s Gandhinagar Cyber Police, acting on a complaint from Star India, have arrested an alleged kingpin behind an illicit Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) service that attracted roughly five million subscribers and generated an estimated ₹700 crore (US $84 million) in annual revenue.
Investigators identified the accused as Mohammed Murtuza Ali, an app developer based in Jalandhar, Punjab. Operating under the brand name “BOS IPTV,” Ali is believed to have streamed thousands of premium linear television channels—including several Pakistani news networks and entertainment serials—without authorization.
Police say the service had been active since 2020. “We traced the suspect’s IP addresses and executed a swift arrest in Jalandhar,” Chaitanya Mandlik, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Gandhinagar Range, told Storyboard18. “We are now probing whether he had links to a wider international piracy ring.”
This is not the first time Gujarat authorities have battled BOSS IPTV. A similar case was lodged against the platform in 2021, but the service resurfaced, apparently expanding its reach and revenues. The latest bust was initiated after Star India detected its live TV signals being rebroadcast online and filed a formal piracy complaint.
The entertainment sector has long battled IPTV piracy, which erodes broadcaster revenues and undermines content creators. Earlier this year, Disney-owned Star India cooperated with law-enforcement agencies in the United Arab Emirates to seize boxes capable of delivering 12,000 pirated channels—an operation believed to be linked to the same network.
The Gandhinagar Cyber Police are analyzing seized servers, bank records, and subscriber databases to map the full extent of the operation. Additional arrests could follow, and investigators say cross-border cooperation may be necessary if evidence confirms an international syndicate.
If convicted under India’s Information Technology Act and the Copyright Act, the accused could face substantial fines and imprisonment. Meanwhile, broadcasters are urging consumers to avoid unauthorized streaming services, warning that “cheap” subscriptions often come bundled with malware risks and zero customer protection.
