Premam row: Govt to strengthen anti-piracy cell

Thiruvananthapuram: Taking a serious note of the piracy of Malayalam blockbuster 'Premam', the State government has decided to strengthen the anti-piracy cell to crackdown on illegal distribution of movies on print, video and electronic files on the internet and social media.

Replying to a submission in the state assembly, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said the government would try to find out the real source of piracy of the film.

Stating that investigation in the Premam case was progressing, he said anti-piracy cell had yesterday arrested three youths, including two minors, who uploaded the first copy from the internet, and the person who handed over the copy in a pen drive.

"Premam is not an isolated case. The government views illegal copying of films and circulating the same on the internet and social media seriously and has decided to strengthen the anti-piracy cell of state police," he said.

Meanwhile, the anti-piracy cell officials today took a statement from Alphonse Puthren, director of Premam.