Raj Kundra, husband of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, who was arrested on Monday for production of pornographic films, allegedly sold his app ‘Hotshots’ to the UK-based company Kenrin Pvt Ltd owned by his brother-in-law Pradeep Bakshi but controlled activities from Mumbai, police have said. The police is also examining Shilpa Shetty’s role in the racket. Kundra and his IT head Ryan Thorpe were remanded in custody till July 23. Police had already arrested nine people earlier in the case. Kundra was involved in the streaming of porn videos through the ‘Hotshots’ app, police said. ‘Hotshots’ has now been removed from mobile platforms. Kundra supplied the content and controlled the UK firm from his Viaan Industries office. Kundra said that he sold ‘Hotshots’ for $25,000 in 2019.
Raj Kundra aka Ripu Sudan Kundra is listed as a director in as many as nine companies. These include Cinemation Media Works, Bastian Hospitality, Kundra Constructions, JL Stream, Aqua Energy Beverages, Viaan Industries, Whole and Them Some Private Limited and Clearcom Private Media.
While seeking the custody of Kundra, who has been named the key conspirator in the racket busted by the Mumbai Police, the cops said “massive” sums of money have been received by him. Kundra’s phone too has been seized and some of his electronic devices are in the custody of the property cell, which has sent them to forensics. Apart from this, foreign currency too has been seized the businessman. The Mumbai Police told the court that without Kundra’s custody, it would be impossible to go ahead with the probe.
As probe goes on, here are the top developments in the case:
– Incriminating electronic evidence accessed by the Mumbai Police hints that business tycoon Raj Kundra believed that streaming of adult content was the future. A report filed by the police also claimed that Raj Kundra planned to make his porn business as big as Bollywood, ETimes reported. The revelation of Raj Kundra’s involvement in the streaming of pornographic videos through an app called “Hotshots” took social media by storm and led to his arrest along with 11 of his accomplices on Monday night.
– Kundra was actively involved in the production of pornography, sources close to the Mumbai Crime Branch told CNN-News18. Although Kundra had previously claimed that he sold off his business to his brother-in-law in UK, property cell officers found that Kundra had lied. Through investigation, it has come to light that Kundra was actively involved in day-to-day decisions in the operation of HS. Kundra had set up a strong legal team to stop piracy of the pornographic content being created for the HotShots (HS) app. The legal team was reportedly looking into copy rights issues in India and abroad.
– Further, it has come to the fore that the Mumbai Police has so far frozen about Rs 7.31 crore in bank accounts of different people related to the case. Of this, Rs 34,90,00 in the account of HOT HIT app of Yasmin Khan alias Rowa Khan has been frozen.
– Kundra has been receiving regular payments, amounting to Rs 9.65 lakh, in his bank account from Hot Hit, a porn app that was named in the racket busted by Mumbai Police earlier this year. Just before the porn racket was busted by the police in February, Kundra received Rs 2.7 lakh on February 3 from Hot Hit. Similarly, he received Rs 95,000 on January 23, Rs 1 lakh on January 20, Rs 2 lakh on January 13, and Rs 3 lakh on January 10.
– The Mumbai Police on Wednesday said they are investigating Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty’s role in the production of pornographic films. Though the preliminary investigation does not indicate her involvement, the Mumbai Crime Branch is still analysing her part, an officer said. “Preliminary investigation has not shown us that Shilpa Shetty has any role in this pornographic racket. But we are still analysing,” an officer from Mumbai Crime Branch told CNN-News18.
“We are going through their bank accounts that are jointly held by Shetty and Kundra to check if the financial proceeds have been stored in these accounts,” he said. Stressing that, currently, the focus of investigation is Kundra since he is the main conspirator, the officer added, “No summons as of now to Mrs Shilpa Shetty Kundra.”
– Raj Kundra’s arrest began with a tip-off about a porn movie being shot at a bungalow in Madh Island. As they reached at the bungalow, Mumbai Police found two persons in intimate poses. Five persons assisting in the filming process were arrested and a woman was rescued from the house that day, the police said. The latter was made a complainant in the case which eventually led to the arrest of the businessman five months later on July 19.
– YouTuber Puneet Kaur has alleged that businessman and Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty’s husband Raj Kundra had contacted her through a DM (direct message) on Instagram for a mobile application named “Hotshots”.
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