Actor Tamannaah summoned in illegal IPL streaming case: Report

CHENNAI: Actor Tamannaah Bhatia has been summoned as a witness by the Maharashtra Cyber Cell for questioning in connection with the IPL illegal streaming case.

According to sources, the actor has been asked to appear for questioning on April 29.

It is also reported that noted Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt has also been summoned in connection with the case. Reports said he was asked to appear for questioning earlier this week. However, due to his schedule, he could not appear and asked for a new date, reports added.

“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 (sic)," news agency ANI said in a social media post.

“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,” the tweet added.

Tamannaah and Sanjay Dutt allegedly promoted and endorsed FairPlay’s sister concern, Mahadev betting app, which was caught in a political controversy in the recent five-State Assembly elections.

It is also reported that more than 20 influencers who had endorsed FairPlay app on different platforms are also likely to be summoned soon to record their statements.

Earlier in September 2023, a FIR was registered after Viacom18 complained that they possess the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) for streaming IPL matches. Inspite of the complaint, betting app Fair Play was streaming the matches illegally. Following the FIR, several stars including Indian rapper and singer Badshah, Sanjay Dutt, Jacqueline Fernandez and Tamannaah were called in for questioning.

In December 2023, an employee of the betting app was arrested.