Bollywood stars Tamanaah Bhatia and Sanjay Dutt have been summoned by the Maharashtra Cyber cell in connection with an Indian Premier League (IPL) streaming case. (Full Coverage)
The actors allegedly promoted viewing of the IPL 2023 matches on Fairplay, an app allegedly connected to the Mahadev Open Book (MOB) platform.
The case was registered after Viacom 18, the exclusive rights holder to broadcast the cash-rich league, filed a complaint. Bhatia, 34, was on Thursday issued the summon to appear before the Cell on April 29 for questioning.
The Fairplay app, reports claimed, had shown IPL matches live, from 31 March 2023 to 7 April 2023. The broadcasting company, according to reports, claimed that it lost around INR 100 crore due to illegal broadcast of the IPL matches.
Dutt was also summoned in connection with the case. However, the 64-year-old has requested another date.
"Maharashtra Cyber summons actor Tamannaah Bhatia for questioning in connection with the illegal streaming of IPL 2023 on Fairplay App that caused loss of Crores of Rupees to Viacom. She has been asked to appear before Maharashtra Cyber on 29th April," ANI reported.
"Actor Sanjay Dutt was also summoned in this connection on 23rd April but he had not appeared before them. He had, instead, sought a date and time for recording his statement and said that he was not in India on the date."
Further, the investigating team which is probing the case, revealed that promoters linked with the MOB platform used funds from various shell companies to pay Bollywood celebs to endorse their apps.
The 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League, featuring 10 teams, completed 40 matches on Wednesday with Delhi Capitals beating Gujarat Titans by four runs. Tonight, Sunrisers Hyderabad play host to bottom-placed Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
As things stand, Rajasthan Royals lead the IPL 2024 table with 14 points from seven wins in eight matches. Kolkata Knight Riders, with 10 points, are second thanks to their superior net run rate. Sunrisers, also with five wins from seven, are third.
Chennai Super Kings are the defending champions.
