Raj Kundra arrested in pornography case: No active role of Shilpa Shetty found yet, informs police
Monday came as a shock for Shilpa Shetty fans when her businessman husband Raj Kundra got arrested in a case relating to the production of porn films. The case was registered with Crime Branch Mumbai in February 2021 about the creation of pornographic films and publishing them through some apps. Mumbai Police said that they have sufficient evidence to prove that Kundra was the key conspirator. He appeared before the Property Cell of Mumbai Police's Crime Branch on Tuesday morning after which he was sent into judicial custody till July 23.. Several speculations were going rounds on the internet saying the Bollywood actress will soon be summoned in the case. However, her fans were relieved when Milind Bharambe, the Joint Commissioner of Police, gave his statement in relation to the same.
The latest tweet by news agency ANI read, "Crime Branch Mumbai registered offense in Feb on publishing of porn films. It was found that small artists were lured on pretext of breaks in web series. They were asked for bold scenes that turned into semi-nude & nude scenes against their wishes: Mumbai Jt Police Commissioner."
Mumbai Jt Police Commissioner further informed, "We have arrested producers like Umesh Kamat, who's looking after India operations of Raj Kundra. Content creation &operations of 'Hotshots' app was carried out through Viaan company.During raid, we found evidence on basis of which we arrested Kundra."
His statement about Shetty's involvement read, "We have not been able to any find any active role (of Shilpa Shetty) yet. We are investigating. We'll appeal to the victims to come forward and contact the Crime Branch Mumbai. We'll take appropriate action."
The husband of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, Kundra is the owner of Viaan Industries Ltd, jointly promoted by the couple, while Bakshi -- a British citizen, who is married to Kundra's sister -- is the Chairman of Kenrin Ltd., London. Mumbai's Joint Police Commissioner (Crime) Milind Bharambe said that the two companies had a mobile app called 'HotShots Digital Entertainment', developed by Kenrin Ltd.
The HotShots app is described as the "world's first 18+ app" showcasing some of the hottest models and celebs globally in exclusive photos, short films and hot videos -- implying soft-to-hard porn.
"The free to download app was yanked off by both Apple and Google Playstore for the type of its content. The Mumbai Police have recovered incriminating evidences like several HotShot films, video clips, WhatsApp chats, etc. during the investigation," Bharambe told a crowded media gathering.
Following the investigations by the Malvani Police and later by the Crime Branch-CID and Property Cell, at least 12 arrests have been made so far, including Kundra, his techie associate Ryan J. Tharpe, who were remanded to police custody till July 23 by a Mumbai Magistrate Court.
The nine persons arrested earlier include TV actress Gehna Vashisht, 32, Yasmin R. Khan, 40, Monu Joshi, 28, Pratibha Nalavade, 33, M. Atif Ahmed, 24, Dipankar P. Khasnavis, 38, Bhanusurya Thakur, 26, Tanvir Hashmi, 40, and Umesh Kamath, 39.
-With IANS inputs
