The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday carried out raids at the residence and office of businessman Raj Kundra, husband of actor Shilpa Shetty, in Mumbai, in a money laundering investigation linked to a porn network case against him. The agency is also searching the premises of Kundra's associates, according to officials.
Kundra was arrested in June 2021 on charges of allegedly producing pornographic films. He was later granted bail in September 2021, after spending two months in jail.
Mumbai Police officials have stated that Kundra was the primary conspirator in the case.
The network was uncovered following the bust of a pornography racket by the Mumbai Police in February 2021, which led to the arrest of five individuals. Further investigations resulted in four additional arrests over time.
According to the case details, aspiring models and actors were lured with promises of movie roles but were coerced into participating in pornographic films. The shoots typically took place in rented bungalows or apartments in Mumbai.
During the shoots, the accused would ask the actresses to act according to a different script and also pressured them to perform nude scenes. Those who refused were reportedly threatened and made to bear the production costs of the shoot.
The recorded clips were then uploaded to subscription-based apps, requiring users to pay a fee to access the content.
In June, the Mumbai Police Crime Branch uncovered the involvement of HotShots, an app owned by Raj Kundra's company, in this racket. Following a search operation, officials reported that adult content was found on the servers that were seized.
During the bail plea hearing, Kundra's counsel argued that neither he nor his IT head, Ryan Thorpe--who was also arrested--was responsible for deciding what content was uploaded to the platform. However, the Mumbai Police maintained that they have enough evidence against Kundra.
Kundra was charged under sections 420 (cheating), 34 (common intention), 292, and 293 (related to obscene and indecent advertisements and displays) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), along with provisions of the IT Act and the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act.
He had filed a discharge application, asserting that the evidence gathered during the investigation failed to establish even a primary case against him, citing a "lack of proof of essential ingredients".
Apart from Kundra and officials of the Raj Kundra Films, actors Poonam Pandey, Sherlyn Chopra and Umesh Kamat were also named accused in the case.
Source: India Today