A cyber police officer said that the department took cognizance of the complaint since “this issue can potentially have an adverse effect on the young impressionable minds of our society”.The Maharashtra cyber police department last week registered a case against streaming service Alt Balaji and several production houses, directors and actors, for allegedly transmitting pornographic content.
The FIR was filed on November 6 following a complaint by a resident of Palghar district, after he came across a news story about a man arrested for shooting and selling pornographic videos across India and abroad. The Palghar resident approached the cyber police after discovering that those videos had been published online by several streaming services and pornographic websites.
A cyber police officer said that the department took cognizance of the complaint since “this issue can potentially have an adverse effect on the young impressionable minds of our society”.
The police invoked sections of the Indian Penal Code, the IT Act and the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act in the FIR against 13 streaming services, including Alt Balaji operated by Balaji Telefilms Limited, and pornographic websites.
“The videos uploaded on the OTT platforms and websites are extremely obscene, lascivious and have not been certified by any certifying agency. It is likely that the actors depicted in the videos in an obscene way have been exploited, lured or compelled to perform the obscene acts. It can have disastrous consequences on young minds and lead to erosion of dignity of women. Hence, legal action has been taken on perpetrators of such OTT platforms,” the officer said.