Abids police bust book piracy racket, four arrested for selling fake copies

Abids police have busted an alleged book piracy racket and arrested four people for selling counterfeit copies of popular titles. The case was registered following a complaint by Penguin Random House India’s representative, with charges filed under the BNS and Copyright Act.

Hyderabad: The Abids police busted a book piracy racket on Sunday, arresting four individuals for allegedly selling counterfeit copies of popular titles at roadside stalls in Abids.

The case was registered after Kaleem Ahmed, the authorised representative of Penguin Random House India, made a complaint alleging that Mohammed Sayeed Ul Hassan, Syed Farooq Ali, Mohammed Ajaz Ali and Mohd Abdul Razzaq were selling duplicate copies of books published by Penguin Random House India, Hay House Publishers (India) and Simon and Schuster Publishers India without authorisation.

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According to the complaint, the counterfeit books were being sold as genuine publications at wholesale rates from stalls on Tilak Road near Bata X Road, misleading retailers and customers while causing financial losses to the publishers.

Based on the complaint, the Abids police registered a case under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 63 of the Copyright Act, 1957. Further investigation is underway.