MUMBAI: Continuing with its initiative to fight piracy rigidly, the Indian Music Industry (IMI) recently conducted two anti-piracy raids in Mohali and Ludhiana with the help of Punjab police.

The materials recovered during the raids included two computer units, two recorder chips, two card readers and two DVD writers used in piracy. The VCD and MP3 versions of several hits like Chamkila (Saregama) and Razz (Tips) were also recovered from the shops. Police have arrested two accused in this case so far.

The IMI investigators under the supervision of state coordinator DS Dhaliwal, played an instrumental role in informing the police authorities and exposing the offenders.

Commenting on the raid, IMI secretary general Savio D’Souza said, “IMI is committed to its fight against piracy and will ensure that 2012 yields quality results. Indian music industry is suffering from huge losses because of piracy that not only hurts the commercial interests of licensed manufacturers but also has the potential of damaging the country’s economic and social fabric. Such raids not only prove to be a benefit for the industry but also boost the morale of artistes.”

According to IMI, physical format of piracy alone dents a loss of Rs 6 billion annually to the music Industry of India. With piracy expanding its footprints in India, the industry is witnessing newer formats like the Mobile Chip piracy which roughly estimates a loss of another Rs 3 billion. In order to minimize the losses from mobile chip piracy, IMI launched a new exchange – Music Mobile Exchange (MMX) which enables a shopkeeper as legitimate to download music in the external memory (mobile chips) by opting for the MMX license.

However this is not the first time that such a raid has been carried out in the city by the police. The IMI with the help of Punjab police has conducted around 26 anti-piracy raids in the last one month in the region and aims to strongly continue with its endeavour to banish piracy in the city.