The Mumbai crime branch team is likely to seek extension of accused businessman Raj Kundra’s police custody in connection with the pornography racket case.
The Mumbai crime branch team, which is investigating the pornography racket case, is likely to seek extension of accused businessman Raj Kundra’s police custody, claiming that Kundra is not at all cooperating in the police investigation.
Raj Kundra (45), the husband of Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty, was arrested by the Mumbai crime branch on Monday night in a case, which it said, related to the alleged creation of pornographic films and publishing them through some apps. He was sent to police custody till July 23.
As Raj Kundra is not cooperating in the police investigation, the crime branch is likely to seek extension of Raj Kundra’s police custody, said sources in the crime branch.
A police officer said, “Raj Kundra is not at all cooperating with us. He does not answer many of the questions we ask him. Also, he is completely denying all the charges against him.”
“Raj Kundra is saying he never made porn movies. We are going to inform the court about how Kundra is not cooperating in the police investigation and not divulging any details,” the official said.
The official further said, “Despite whatever Kundra has to say, we have strong evidence against him in the case.”
WHAT IS THE CONNECTION BETWEEN RAJ KUNDRA AND PORN FILMS RACKET?
According to police, Raj Kundra was allegedly operating a pornography racket since August 2019. They also claimed that there were several WhatsApp chats that revealed Raj Kundra was involved in the financial dealings of apps and their contents.
Kundra’s Viaan Industries had a tie-up with London-based company Kenrin, which owns ‘HotShots’ app, allegedly involved in publishing pornographic films, police said. Kenrin is owned by the brother-in-law of Kundra, they said.
Police further claimed that three women have come forward with complaints in the case, saying they were “forced to act in pornographic movies”.
The accused persons took advantage of struggling models, actors and other workers, and made them work in these pornographic movies, the police said, adding these movies were shot in rented bungalows in Mumbai.
Accused of being the “key conspirator” of the case, Raj Kundra was arrested on Monday and remanded in police custody till July 23 by a Mumbai court on Tuesday. He was booked under sections 420 (cheating), 34 (common intention), 292 and 293 (related to obscene and indecent advertisements and displays) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) besides relevant sections of the IT Act and the Indecent Represen
In all, 11 persons have been arrested so far in the case, the police have said.
WHAT MUMBAI CRIME BRANCH IS INVESTIGATING?
There are many loose ends in the case, which the Mumbai crime branch is probing.
According to the sources, the Mumbai crime branch is trying to establish how the money flowed and was transacted in the racket. The HotShots app was registered in the UK. So, police are investigating how the money flowed from India to the UK and then back to India.
Police are also probing how much money Raj Kundra made through this porn movies racket.
Police had recovered video data from Raj Kundra’s office but a lot of that data was deleted. The Mumbai crime branch is trying to figure out what and why that data was deleted.
The Mumbai crime branch is also probing if there are other locations where porn movies were shot.
Police have also launched an investigation into the complaints wherein a few women have alleged that on the pretext of getting a role in a movie, they were made to sign a contract.
Source: India Today
