A brazen data theft case has sent shockwaves through Mumbai’s entertainment industry after 66 high-capacity hard disks containing sensitive and potentially unreleased film and web series content allegedly went missing from the Bandra West office of Tiger Baby Digital LLP, the production company run by acclaimed filmmaker duo Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti. One accused has been arrested while another remains at large, and investigators fear a wider criminal network may be involved.
What was stolen from Zoya Akhtar’s office, and what’s its worth?
According to the IANS report, the missing hard disks are reported to have contained a vast range of digital production material, including raw footage, edit timelines, post-production backups, advertisement content, and archives of unreleased projects. The devices themselves have been valued at between Rs 12 lakh and Rs 13 lakh. However, industry insiders warn that if any of the unreleased content stored on these disks finds its way online, the actual financial and reputational damage could run into crores. The stolen devices were high-capacity storage units ranging from 16TB to 72TB, the kind of infrastructure routinely used by major production houses for films, OTT projects, and commercial shoots. Internal checks by the company revealed that out of 119 hard disks stored at the office, 66 are currently unaccounted for.
Projects whose data may have been compromised
Sources indicate that the missing disks allegedly contained production material linked to several high-profile projects, including ‘Made in Heaven’, ‘Ghost Stories’, Nykaa campaigns, and ‘Gandhi Money’. Investigators are now examining whether unreleased content from any of these projects has been accessed, copied, sold, or illegally circulated.The case first surfaced on May 21, when employees at the production house’s Bandra West office were unable to locate certain hard disks needed for ongoing work. A thorough search of the storage area revealed that several devices were missing. In their place, staff allegedly found empty and partially damaged boxes inside the storage cabinets, a discovery that immediately raised red flags.Crucially, police noted no signs of forced entry, fire, or external damage at the office, prompting the company to launch an internal inquiry. A formal complaint was subsequently filed by the company’s executive assistant and HR admin, Mehjabeen Mushtaq Sheikh, following which the Bandra Police registered an FIR and launched a full investigation.
Office boy arrested; Borivali middleman absconding
The prime accused, Mohammad Shahid Azim Khan, worked as an office boy at Tiger Baby Digital and had reportedly been responsible for handling and storing the hard disks for several years. During interrogation, Shahid allegedly confessed to stealing multiple hard disks over the past five months and selling 24 of them to a Borivali-based man named Ritesh for approximately Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 each. Ritesh is currently absconding, and police teams are actively conducting searches to trace him.Shahid has reportedly been unable to account for the whereabouts of the remaining missing disks, leading investigators to suspect that additional individuals may be part of a larger organised network involved in digital data theft.Police are also examining the possible role of another staff member, Kalpesh Pawar, though investigators have clarified that no conclusions have been reached regarding his involvement and the probe remains ongoing.The incident has cast a harsh spotlight on the state of digital security within India’s entertainment industry.
