Chandigarh (Gurpreet Singh)—Shortly after being pulled from the streaming platform ZEE5 in India, the Diljit Dosanjh starrer Satluj has reportedly been leaked online across various piracy networks. Deeply concerned by the rapid spread of the pirated versions, the streaming platform expressed its distress and made an urgent appeal to audiences to reject illicit downloads. In a social media post, ZEE5 stated that they are exploring every legal avenue to bring the film back to viewers through official channels and urged the public to do their part by not supporting piracy. The film, which was abruptly taken down on July 5 until further notice, has faced severe hurdles since its initial release.
In an official statement released following the removal on Sunday, ZEE5 acknowledged the overwhelming response from subscribers who had viewed and supported the story, while confirming its temporary unavailability within India. Leading actor Diljit Dosanjh addressed the development during an Instagram Live session on Monday, expressing a mix of disappointment and resignation over the sudden suspension. Dosanjh noted that while he anticipated administrative interventions might freeze the film’s distribution once offices opened on Monday, the swift removal on Sunday evening caught many by surprise. The biographical film depicts the dangerous journey of human rights defender Jaswant Singh Khalra during the late 1980s and early 1990s in Punjab.
The underlying narrative focuses on Khalra’s work in documenting alleged extrajudicial killings and secret mass cremations of thousands of unidentified bodies during the peak of militancy in the region. Khalra himself went missing in 1995, and his body was later recovered near the Harike bridge on the Satluj River. Following a petition filed by his wife, the Supreme Court ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe in 1996, which subsequently unearthed evidence of illegal detention at a local police station. The investigation led to the prosecution of several Punjab Police personnel, culminating in a Patiala court convicting six officers in 2005. The Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Supreme Court later upheld life sentences for the key accused in 2007 and 2011, respectively, cementing the historical weight behind the contested film.
