With the cable war heating up in the city, Banjara Hills police on Tuesday arrested six employees of Sitivision for allegedly disrupting infrastructure of a rival cable television company. With the fight between multiple system operators (MSOs) Hathway and Sitivision spilling over on the streets, it is alleged that cables of the rival company were cut and amplifiers and set-top boxes stolen and removed in a game of one-upmanship.
“We have booked a case of theft under IPC Section 379 and mischief and causing damage under Section 427 IPC against employees of Sitivision as per a complaint lodged by Hathway,” Banjara Hills police inspector M. Sudarshan said. “Similar complaints are filed in Begumpet and other areas of the city. We have arrested six persons, including Raj Kumar and Madhu.” Hathway’s regional manager, Mr Kiran Kumar, has alleged that employees of the rival MSO have stolen amplifiers and set-top boxes. However, Sitivision claimed that targeting customers of other MSOs is part of the business, and that other companies were indulging in such games. Sitivision, earlier called Siticable, is attempting to regain a territorial foothold in the city by trying to push aside Hathway, which recently entered several areas in Chandanagar by pushing back other operators. Sitivision is said to have Mr Botsa Satish, brother of PCC president and transport minister Botsa Satyanarayana, as one of its promoters.