New Delhi:Big data theft for Mumbai film industry. Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti’s production house Tiger Baby Digital LLP has lost 66 hard disks. These hard disks contained highly important and confidential data pertaining to films, web series and advertising projects. Initial investigations have put the loss from the theft at Rs 12 lakh to Rs 13 lakh, but the loss could be in crores if data is leaked.
How was the theft discovered?
The case was revealed on 21st May 2026 when the employees at the company’s office at Bandra West required some hard disks for a project. After an extensive search, the disks could not be found and staff members began checking the storage cabinets.
During the search several empty and partially damaged hard-disk boxes were discovered. At first, employees thought it was a technical problem or something like that, but later it was confirmed that the hard disks had been stolen.
Police complaint and arrest
Mehjabeen Mushtaq Shaikh, the company’s executive assistant and HR administrator, filed a complaint at Bandra police station. The police have registered a case against two persons, Mohammad Shahid Azim Khan and Ritesh, on the basis of the complaint. Police have arrested both the accused.
Khan allegedly confessed during interrogation that he had stolen and sold 24 hard disks in the last five months. He said he sold the disks to a Borivali resident Ritesh at Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 per disk. But he has not made clear the whereabouts of the other hard disks that are missing. Police are now trying to establish where the disks ended up and whether the data was leaked.
Missing important film data
The investigation revealed that the office had a total of 119 hard disks, out of which 66 were missing. These included high capacity storage devices from 16TB up to 72TB. The hard drives contained raw film footage, edited content, post production files, shooting archives and advertising project data.
The missing disks contained material from major projects including Made in Heaven, Ghost Stories, Nayaka and Gandhi Money, sources say. There were also reports of some disks with unpublished and sensitive data, raising concerns about possible leaks.
Suspicious Staffer
Office employee Kalpesh Pawar is also suspected to be involved in the theft of some hard disks. The company’s management however said the investigation into his role was still ongoing and no final conclusions had been reached.
Data security concerns in Bollywood
The incident has raised serious concerns for data security in the film industry. In the digital age, the whole process of production and post production of films and web series depends a lot on the stored data. Such thefts not only cause financial losses, but also threaten the release and confidentiality of major projects.
At present, the Bandra police is conducting a detailed investigation of the case. The police are also looking into the possibility of an organised data theft syndicate. The court has remanded both the arrested suspects to the police custody till 29th of May.
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