Hyderabad: iBomma piracy accused Immandi Ravi concluded his second round of police custody on Saturday, with Telangana cyber crime officials extracting crucial data related to film piracy operations. Over three days, investigators questioned Ravi on multiple angles, uncovering key details about his methods, platforms, and associates.
Cyber crime officials confirmed that Ravi operated piracy websites under the names iBomma and Bappam. He uploaded thousands of pirated films to these platforms. During interrogation, Ravi allegedly revealed that “iBomma” was short for “Internet Bomma,” inspired by the slang used in Visakhapatnam where locals refer to films as “bomma.” As for “Bappam,” he initially intended to name the site “Balpam,” but dropped the letter “L” due to technical issues with the domain.
Ravi sourced OTT films, outsourced editing to Caribbean firms
Ravi allegedly admitted to recording movies from OTT platforms and improving audio-video quality using outsourced teams based in the Caribbean islands. He sourced most content through Telegram channels and used encrypted mail systems to store data. Police discovered that the pirated content was hidden in spam and concealed files within Ravi’s email accounts.
In total, the cyber crime team identified over 21,000 pirated movies uploaded to the iBomma and Bappam sites. Ravi also disclosed the existence of a piracy network facilitated through a platform called “Angel Online.” One such link was shown to police during interrogation, but it was revoked shortly after, prompting further investigation.
On the first day of custody, police gained leads into financial flows and server operations. They also identified IP masking tactics and suspected offshore collaborators. However, on day two, Ravi became uncooperative and avoided disclosing further details. At one point, he reportedly told police he wanted to “do good work” once released.
Following the conclusion of this custody period, police produced Ravi before the Nampally court and shifted him to Chanchalguda jail. Authorities have not ruled out seeking further custody, especially as they prepare to announce findings related to IP-masked links soon.