Leaked theatre footage sold for up to Rs 25,000; police probing whether it was stolen or hacked

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Cyber Police will record the statements of theatre staff in connection with the leak of CCTV footage from KSFDC theatres that later appeared on pornographic websites. The investigation is focused on whether the footage was stolen or hacked. KSFDC chairman K. Madhu, who filed the complaint, has been asked to provide more details.

Police have asked for links to the websites where the footage was uploaded, as well as information about the related Telegram and X accounts. An internal five-member committee led by the KSFDC Managing Director is already conducting an inquiry. Based on the information KSFDC provides, an FIR will be registered and the probe will be intensified.

The leaked videos show inappropriate visuals of people who came to watch movies at the Kairali, Sree and Nila theatres. The KSFDC logo and the theatres’ watermark are clearly visible in the footage. The videos reportedly appear on paid websites. Social media posts claim that Telegram groups are sharing links to these videos and that users have to pay to download them. Some buyers have reportedly paid up to Rs 25,000.

The initial assumption is that the footage may have been hacked from cloud storage. However, investigators are also checking whether it was leaked directly from the theatres and whether any staff members were involved. Keltron, the agency that installed the CCTV system, has been asked to identify where the failure occurred.

Following the incident, Minister Saji Cherian ordered that all CCTV and cloud passwords be changed immediately.