28 April,2026 09:16 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Vijay in Jana Nayagan (Pic/X)
Vijay-starrer Jana Nayagan has been in the news for a few months now. Amid this, the film leaked online in HD print earlier this month. So far, around 10 arrests have been made in the case, including a freelance editor, who is being considered to be the main accused behind the leak. Now, the police have arrested one more individual, a CCTV staff member working at a vote-counting centre, for allegedly downloading and watching the film illegally.
The individual, identified as T Yuvraj, was reportedly serving as a CCTV technical head at Anna University. Yuvraj was recruited through the Election Commission on a contract basis. During duty hours, he reportedly downloaded Vijay's Jana Nayagan and was seen watching the film illegally on his laptop. That's not all, according to The Hindu, he even allegedly took a photograph of the same and posted it on his Facebook account at around 11 PM on April 23. The photo shows multiple CCTV screens in the background.
The post quickly went viral and sparked controversy. The CCTV technician was watching Jana Nayagan illegally inside the CCTV control room at a vote-counting centre in Chennai. After the completion of the polling for Assembly elections on April 23, Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) from Saidapet, Virugambakkam, Velachery, T Nagar, and Mylapore were stored under tight security surveillance in three strong rooms across Chennai, including one at Anna University.
An IT official at the Greater Chennai Corporation reportedly filed a complaint with the police regarding the Facebook post, which eventually led to Yuvaraj's arrest. According to NDTV, the police are investigating how he accessed the film. During the inquiry, police allegedly found that he had watched the film at the centre before the EVMs were moved into the secured room on April 23, after the voting process was completed.
Jana Nayagan, which is believed to be Vijay's final film before he entered politics with his party TVK, was scheduled to be released in January for Pongal. However, it was postponed indefinitely due to a delay in CBFC certification. KVN Productions found no relief from the courts despite legal hardships. Meanwhile, before it could receive the CBFC certificate and a new release date could be announced, it was leaked online in HD print on April 9.
The police have so far arrested ten individuals in the leak. A freelance editor, working on another film, is being treated as the main accused in the leak case and has recently applied for bail. Additionally, a cable TV operator was also arrested recently after illegally broadcasting the film. The arrest of the CCTV staff marks the 11th arrest in the case so far. Earlier, Jana Nayagan's editor was also suspended from the Editors' Association for negligence despite not being directly involved.
