New Delhi: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police has made a significant breakthrough by apprehending an accused who had been on the run for more than 12 years, officials said on Monday.
The accused has been identified as Raghunath Shahi (49), a resident of Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. The charges against him include violations under the Copy Right Act and several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 63/65/66 Copy Right Act r/w 420/467/468/471/174A IPC. The case was registered at the Preet Vihar Police Station, New Delhi in 2005.
Vikram Porwal, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) EOW, said that Shahi had been declared a proclaimed offender by the court on January 24, 2011. The case was initially filed by Rajesh Bajaj of M/s Softmax Software Solution, who alleged that the accused had created animation short stories and sold their rights to the complainant through his firm Bostan Software. The complainant claimed exclusive ownership and copyright over the titled cinematographic films, which included notable works such as Mack & Jack, Mermaid, The Real Princess, Sleeping Beauty, Wood-Cutter & Gingerman.
During the investigation, it was revealed that the accused, in collaboration with Amit Sharma of M/s Interlude Technology, Janak Puri, New Delhi, had been involved in the production and distribution of pirated versions of the original works. The pirated CDs bore deceptive titles and were sold in the open market.
Amit Sharma had already joined the investigation and submitted an agreement he had with Raghunath Shahi. However, the latter had evaded arrest, leading to his declaration as a Proclaimed Person. Despite his attempts to remain elusive by changing his address and mobile number, Shahi was finally apprehended in Kanpur, Porwal confirmed.
During an intense search conducted in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, and Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, he was found working as a store in-charge at a thermal power plant site in Neyveli, Kasimpur, District Kanpur.
Shahi was apprehended on Saturday in Kanpur and has been taken into police custody and remanded for further investigation in the case, Porwal said.