In an attempt to check the rising levels of piracy, Symantec allegedly
conducted a raid on Delhi-based Bansal Stanmart, a wholesaler of software.
According to market sources, an official from the crime branch, which conduced
the raid, first went and bought a unit of Symantec software in the guise of a
customer. Once they got proof they nailed the pirates.
Gaurav Bansal, Director, Bansal Stanmart, who is out of the country, remained
unavailable for comments till the time of going to press. His cousin, Sanjay
Bansal, who is a partner in the business, was arrested during the raid and
released on bail two days later.
Though Bansal Stanmart is not a partner of Symantec or Symantec's
distributors, the company is a wholesaler of software. While the market is abuzz
with the news of the raid, partners we spoke to did not want to be named as some
of them had provided consignments to Bansal Stanmart and they did not want to
jeopardize their payments which were stuck with the accused.
When contacted, Sanjay confirmed that a checking did take place but denied
that it was a raid. “On Wednesday some people did come. But it was not a raid.
They simply came to check material etc,” stated Sanjay. He refused to divulge
any details on the incident saying it was confidential information and further
information could only be provided by Gaurav.
When contacted, a Symantec official refused to accept or deny the incident as
it was a legal case.