INDIA. Mumbai: While actress Shilpa Shetty’s husband Raj Kundra and his associate have been sent to police custody till July 23, the preliminary investigation does not indicate Shilpa’s involvement, in the porn racket, although she may be summoned for formal questioning.
A Mumbai crime branch officer said that the preliminary investigation has not shown us that Shilpa Shetty has any role in this pornographic racket. But we are still analyzing, he added.
As of now, the police have arrested 11 people including Ripu Sudan Balkrishna Kundra (Raj Kundra), his PA Umesh Kamat, and an IT expert Ryan John Tharpe.
Initially, FIR (No 103/2021) was registered on February 05 at Malwani Police station after a raid on the Green Park Bungalow, Madh, in Malad West in North Mumbai, during which the shooting of porn videos was detected. Now FIR (No 26/2021) has been registered by the crime branch. The offence has been registered under sections 292,293,420,34, 354(K) of the Indian Penal Code, sections 66,67, 67 (A) of the Information Technology Act 2000, and section 2(G), 3,4,6,7 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act 1986.
The property seized by the police includes 2 hard disks, 1 laptop, and two mobiles worth Rs 5.68 lakh. Besides, an amount of Rs.7,31,28, 462 lying in different bank accounts, collected through pornographic business, has been attached.
The companies under the radar of police include : Viaan Industries, Andheri West, Armsprime Media Private Limited, Navi Mumbai, and the UK-based company Kenrin Pvt Ltd owned by Kundra’s brother-in-law Pradeep Bakshi. However, the company’s activities were controlled by Kundra from Mumbai. The police are also investigating whether foreign companies are involved in this racket. Kundra’s involvement in OTT platforms providing adult content including Hotshot, HotHit Movies, and Neufliks, has been proved. Kundra was said to be earning Rs 6 lakh to Rs 8 lakh daily through the adult film business.
Kundra allegedly sold his app ‘Hotshots’ to Kenrin Pvt Ltd. The crime branch has come across a bank transfer into Kundra’s account made by the Hotshots mobile app. The last transaction between the two accounts took place is as latest as January 2021, a month before a case was filed against Kundra, and the actress involved in the business was arrested.
He was involved in the streaming of porn videos through the ‘Hotshots’ app. Kundra supplied the content and controlled the Kenrin Private Limited, from his Viaan Industries office. However, Kundra stated that he sold ‘Hotshots’ for $25,000 in 2019.
Cyber Pornography
Cyber Pornography is neither banned nor legalized under the IT Act, 2000. The IT Act. prohibits the production and distribution of cyber pornography but does not prohibit the viewing or downloading of pornographic content if it is not child pornography. Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 makes certain acts punishable with imprisonment up to 3 years and a fine up to Rs 5 lakh.
Kundra is listed as a director in as many as nine companies. These include Cinemation Media Works, Bastian Hospitality, Kundra Constructions, J.L. Stream, Aqua Energy Beverages, Viaan Industries, Whole and Them Some Private Limited, and Clearcom Private Media.
After the arrest of Kundra, the model and actress Sagarika Shona Suman accused him of ‘demanding nude audition’. In a video, she said that she was offered a role in the web series, which was produced by him. She said that she received the offer in August 2020 which she refused. Similarly, the Youtuber Punnet Kaur accused Kundra of trying to ‘lure’ her into working for “Hotshots”. She claimed that Kundra had reached out to her through direct message. She is an NRI.
However, actress Gehana Vasisth, who was arrested by the Mumbai Police in February on allegations of shooting and uploading pornographic videos on her website, came out in support of Kundra saying ‘We don’t make porn, it’s normal erotica, similar to Ekta Kapoor’s Gandhi Baat’.
Kundra’s IPL connection
The former co-owner of the IPL team Rajasthan Royals-Raj Kundra was banned for life from cricket after being accused of betting. He and the former ICC chief N.Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan were found guilty of betting. However, Kundra had filed a petition in Supreme Court in 2018 after Delhi Police gave him a clean chit.
Shilpa Shetty and Kundra met in 2007 and tied the knot two years later. Kundra had already started taking interest in producing Bollywood movies by then. The couple also invested in the Rajasthan Royals franchise and become the co-owners. The team won the first edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), catapulting Kundra into the big league.
