Crime branch busts pirated books racket

New Delhi: Delhi Police crime branch has busted a pirated books racket and arrested a 67-year-old man for allegedly printing and distributing copies of books belonging to Penguin Random House India Pvt. Ltd., police said.

Acting on a complaint lodged on March 14, police teams conducted raids in Rohini’s Sector-16, recovering 8,593 pirated books. A subsequent raid at a nearby location resulted in the seizure of 11,544 additional copies, bringing the total recovery to over 20,000 books.

DCP (crime) Aditya Gautam said, “During interrogation, the accused, Jwala Prasad Soni, initially attempted to mislead about the source of the printing. However, sustained questioning led to a breakthrough, with the police team uncovering a printing unit in Anand Parbat industrial area. Two printing machines, along with book negatives and printing plates used for reproducing copyrighted material, were seized from the site.”

Police said the recoveries establish the accused’s direct involvement in the illegal printing, storage and distribution of pirated books, pointing to a well-organised network. “Penguin Random House India Pvt. Ltd. holds the intellectual property rights over the seized material. The accused was a key figure in the racket, facilitating the production and circulation of the copies in violation of copyright laws,” DCP Gautam added.

Soni, a resident of Rohini, has been previously involved in a similar piracy case registered in 2011 under the Copyright Act.

Further investigation is underway to identify other members of the racket.