Mumbai Police have arrested two individuals in connection with the theft of 66 hard disks, estimated to be worth Rs 13 lakh, from the Mumbai office of acclaimed filmmakers Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti. The disks reportedly contain sensitive data related to films, web series, and commercials.
The incident came to light on May 21 when employees at the production house, Tiger Baby Digital LLP, discovered that several hard disks were missing from a cupboard. An audit later confirmed that 66 hard disks, which stored crucial data for various projects, had vanished. The theft was reported to the Bandra police station by an executive assistant at the production house.
Following the complaint, the police initiated an investigation and subsequently arrested Mohammad Shahid Khan, who had been employed as a support staffer at the filmmakers’ office for seven years, and Ritesh Shah, who allegedly purchased the stolen property from Khan. Both accused have been remanded to police custody until May 29.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), the hard disks were kept in a cupboard at the Bandra office and contained data from films, OTT shows, and commercials produced by Tiger Baby Digital LLP. The discovery was made when an employee asked Khan to fetch a particular hard disk, which he could not locate. Upon checking the storage, partially burnt boxes were found, though no burn marks were present on the cupboard itself, suggesting the boxes were removed and set alight elsewhere.
During interrogation, Khan reportedly confessed to stealing 24 hard disks over the past five months and selling them to Ritesh. However, he has not provided clear details regarding the remaining missing hard disks. The police are currently working to ascertain the whereabouts of the stolen hard disks and whether the data they contained has been compromised or leaked.
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) charges of theft by a servant of property in possession of an employer and retaining or receiving stolen property have been invoked against both Khan and Ritesh. This incident has raised concerns about data security within the film industry, as production and post-production processes heavily rely on digital data storage.
The Chenab Times News Desk