There is 3-day police custody for Shilpa Shetty’s husband Raj Kundra for his porn racket, where police described him as a “key conspirator”.
They claim they have sufficient evidence against him. His aide Ryan Thorpe was arrested today in the scandal involving the production and streaming of porn films though Raj Kundra has denied any involvement.
Raj Kundra is a businessman, husband of actor Shilpa Shetty and has been found to deal with pornographic videos through an app called “Hotshots”, the Mumbai Police told a court a day after arresting him. He was sent to police custody till Friday.
According to the police statement in court, his association was revealed after the arrest of a woman, Gahna Vashist, who named the businessman’s former personal assistant Umesh Kamat. Umesh Kamat then revealed Mr Kundra’s involvement, according to the police.
Raj Kundra has rejected any involvement and has claimed that he had sold the “Hotshots” app to wanted accused Pradip Bakshi. But the police said investigations had revealed that Mr Kundra kept regular updated on the finances of the app. He had allegedly also set up a WhatsApp group on which the production, distribution, and selling of Hotshots clips were discussed.
Gahna Vashisht and Umesh Kamat were both involved in producing and shooting porn, writing scripts, and also copied Mr. Kundra on mails on scripts, the police said.
Nine arrests have been made so far in this racket.
Notably, Mr. Raj Kundra lives in Mumbai with his wife Shilpa Shetty and two children and also faces charges like cheating and “obscene and indecent advertisements and displays”. Charges under the IT Act and the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act have also been listed against him. These could potentially lead to five to seven years in jail.
The prominent businessman, who was earlier linked to IPL match-fixing charges, was questioned after Umesh Kamat, caught for uploading obscene videos through a UK firm, named him. The company was allegedly set up by Mr Kundra and his brother, and registered in the UK so it could evade Indian cyber-laws. Laws against publishing and transmitting “obscene material” are tough in the country, though watching pornography in private is legal.
The porn films were allegedly shot in India, transferred using WeTransfer to the UK and released on paid mobile apps. The police said the films were shot in houses and hotels rented in Mumbai. Models were allegedly pulled in with promises of film offers and then forced to shoot porn pictures.
In 2015, he was banned for life from all cricket-related activities following an investigation into match-fixing during his stint as the co-owner with Shilpa Shetty of the Rajasthan Royals.