Forget movies, Delhi police arrests 38-year-old for printing pirated NCERT textbooks

While we have heard of movie piracy, we have hardly heard of textbook piracy. In a shocking incident, a 38-year-old man has been arrested for his alleged involvement in printing pirated NCERT books. Manoj Jain, who stands accused of textbook piracy, is a resident of Shahdara and was arrested by the police following a raid at his printing unit on September 18. 

Manoj's printing unit is located at the Mela Ram Farms in outer Delhi's Mandoli, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rajesh Deo. According to the police officials, Manoj has been into the printing business for eight years but started his printing unit in Mandoli in January 2020. The offset printing unit was publishing pirated NCERT books of Class 6 to 12 of different subjects.  

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During the raid, the police found and recovered around 5,000 pirated books and printed material of NCERT valued at approximately Rs 35 lakh from the unit along with the watermark of NCERT and with the latest offset printing machines. A case was registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Copyright Act following the raid on September 18, police said, adding Manoj had been absconding since then.

Rajesh Deo said, "We conducted the raid along with vigilance officer and production officer of NCERT, New Delhi after a tip-off. These poor-quality pirated books were being supplied in the market at cheaper rates, causing huge revenue loss to NCERT. Further investigation is underway."