The Tamil Nadu State Cyber Crime Wing has arrested six more persons in connection with the piracy and illegal circulation of the film ‘Jana Nayagan’, starring actor-politician Thalapathy Vijay.
The arrests were made as part of the continuing investigation into the piracy and leak of the yet-to-be-released film. The six latest arrests bring total number of people held in this case to 16 since leak first surfaced in April 2026.
What the six did
Investigation revealed that the accused had obtained access to leaked copy of the film and subsequently shared, circulated, promoted content through various digital platforms, including social media accounts, cloud storage links, messaging applications.
Digital devices used in the commission of the offence have been seized for forensic examination. Further investigation is in progress to identify additional persons involved in the piracy network and to trace the complete chain of dissemination.
How the leak began
The main accused was working as a freelance assistant editor on a separate project. He allegedly accessed ‘Jana Nayagan’ footage at an editing studio without authorisation. Investigators suspect the individual copied the film’s reels, assembled the material into a complete version, and shared it with others, allowing it to spread quickly across piracy networks.
The controversy began late Thursday when brief clips from the film surfaced across social media platforms. Within hours, the situation escalated dramatically. By Friday morning, high-definition versions of entire film had reportedly made their way onto piracy websites. Earlier, only short clips ranging from five to ten minutes had appeared online.
Timeline of arrests
The police acted in phases after the leak broke on April 9.
The Cyber Crime Wing arrested six people on Sunday, April 12, for their alleged involvement in the illegal circulation of leaked content. Authorities also took down over 300 links from social media accounts.
A cable operator was separately arrested for illegally airing the film on a local television channel in Coimbatore. The unauthorised telecast came to light after a member of Vijay’s political party flagged the issue to the police. According to police officials, they arrested a 44-year-old cable operator for airing the film.
The Tamil Nadu Cyber Crime Wing then took three more individuals into custody, bringing the total at that point to nine. The primary suspect was a freelance assistant editor. He was officially onboard to work on a different film but used this position to gain unauthorised access to an editing studio. While inside, he accessed the raw footage of Jana Nayagan. He allegedly copied the files and processed the data into a complete version. The suspect then shared this finished cut with associates. It quickly spread across piracy networks in HD quality.
Three more arrests followed including main culprit who stole footage from editing studio. Total number of arrests rose to ten. The six new arrests reported on June 4, 2026, bring that total to 16.
Court orders and platform action
The Madras High Court issued an interim injunction directing internet service providers and cable operators not to stream or broadcast any unauthorised or uncertified versions of the film.
The Madras High Court also ordered internet providers and social media apps to quickly block all illegal links and stop sharing leaked movie clips.
Police issued public warnings stating that downloading, forwarding, sharing, circulating leaked content through social media or digital platforms could lead to legal action.
Editor suspended
The leak triggered professional consequences beyond the criminal investigation. The South Indian Film Editors Association suspended editor Pradeep E Raghav following an emergency meeting on April 17, attended by senior members and leading editors. During this period, all professional cooperation with Raghav was withheld, and other industry bodies were urged to support the action