Fake identity angle deepens iBomma piracy case

In the iBomma piracy case, Hyderabad Cybercrime Police found suspect Immandi Ravi used forged identity documents of Bengaluru professional V Prahlad to run his piracy network, earning an estimated Rs 20 crore. Authorities froze Rs 3.5 crore during the ongoing probe

Hyderabad: The ‘iBomma’ piracy case, which has created a stir across the Telugu states, has taken a dramatic turn with investigators uncovering shocking details about the prime suspect Immandi (Emmandi) Ravi’s fake identity.

The Hyderabad Cybercrime Police probing the case have found that Ravi allegedly operated his large-scale piracy network using forged identity documents belonging to an unsuspecting individual.

---

He further claimed that though he possessed a Carribian Island citizenship, he was staying in Kukatpally in Hyderabad and did not go absconding as claimed by the police.

According to investigators, Ravi fraudulently obtained a PAN card and driving licence in the name of one of his friends V Prahlad. During earlier questioning, Ravi claimed that Prahlad was his former roommate and that he had used the name with consent. However, this claim proved to be false later during cross verification.

Prahlad, a software professional working in Bengaluru, was summoned for questioning and was confronted with Ravi, whose police custody ended on Monday and is currently in prison.

During the police questioning, Prahlad told that he had never met Ravi and that they were never roommates. He expressed shock upon learning that identity documents had been issued in his name without his knowledge.

Prahlad alleged that Ravi had forged his documents and misused them for illegal activities.
Police now suspect that Ravi secretly stole Prahlad’s personal documents and used them to create fake identity proofs, which may have been used to open bank accounts and carry out online financial transactions linked to the piracy operation.

Ravi, a native of Visakhapatnam, is the main suspect in the iBomma piracy case. Police have already questioned him multiple times during custody.

Investigators revealed that several hard drives seized from him contained nearly 21,000 pirated movies in multiple languages. Ravi reportedly admitted to recording films released on OTT platforms and outsourcing work to enhance the audio and video quality of the pirated content.

While unofficial estimates suggest that Ravi earned nearly Rs 20 crore through piracy, police have so far frozen around Rs 3.5 crore found in his bank accounts as part of the investigation.