📰 New article from TorrentFreak
Indian ‘Piracy Kingpin’ Acquitted After 10-Years Due to Lack of Evidence
https://torrentfreak.com/indian-piracy-kingpin-acquitted-after-10-years-due-to-lack-of-evidence/
The “Piracy Kingpin” Who Wasn’t — And the 10-Year Nightmare That Followed
Ten years ago, Priyank Pardeshi — a quiet IBM employee visiting family in India — got caught in a media-fueled witch hunt. Police found pirated movies on his laptop during an unrelated raid, declared him a “kingpin,” and spun a Hollywood-worthy tale: camcording theaters, running TellyTorrents, raking in millions. The headlines screamed. His life imploded.
But here’s the twist: none of it was proven.
No forensic analysis. No bank records. No domain ownership proof. Even the “expert” witnesses admitted they never saw him upload a single file. The court didn’t just dismiss the case — it eviscerated it, calling the investigation “devoid of technical evidence.” Priyank spent 311 days in jail. He couldn’t get a job. No one wanted to marry him. A co-defendant died during the trial.
Now, he’s free — but broken. “People saw me as a criminal,” he says. Meanwhile, the press is already crowning another alleged “kingpin” behind iBomma — with the same flashy claims, zero forensics, and a director gushing over police heroics.
The pattern? India’s anti-piracy crusades often prioritize spectacle over substance. The real crime? Destroying lives before the evidence even shows up.
Priyank’s story isn’t about piracy. It’s about what happens when suspicion replaces proof — and the system forgets to check its own work.