In a sensational submission made before the Mumbai Police in the pornography content case, Bollywood actresss Shilpa Shetty has told the investigators that she was too pre-occupied with her professional work to know about the porn apps and other activities of her businessman-husband Raj Kundra, who is the main accused in the case.
In her statement made before the investigators which finds a mention in the supplementary charge-sheet filed by Mumbai Police before a city court against Kundra and his associate Ryan Thorpe on Wednesday, Shilpa also told the police that in July 2020 she quit the board of directors of Viaan Industries Ltd launched by her husband in April 2015. She said that she quit the company’s board of directors for personal reasons.
The supplementary charge-sheet filed by the Mumbai Police against Kunder and Ryan runs into 1,500 pages.
Kundra, who was arrested on the night of July 19 in connection with a complaint registered by the Crime Branch in 2021, has been booked under Sections 292, 293 (sale of obscene material) under the Indian Penal Code, Sections 66E, 67, 67A (transmission of sexually explicit material) under the Information Technology Act and provisions of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act.
Kundra, who lives in Mumbai with his wife Shilpa Shetty and two children, had earlier told the court that there was no evidence to link him against the HotShot App and was being made a ‘scapegoat’. He had submitted to the court that he had been falsely implicated in the case while the Cyber Cell was making an attempt to connect him with the crime.
Kundra, who is the founder of Viaan Industries Ltd, and his United Kingdom-based brother-in-law Pradeep Bakshi, the Chairman of Kenrin Group, London, have been named masterminds of the porn content racket.
In April this year, the police had filed its first charge-sheet in the case against nine persons originally accused. After subsequent investigations, the police arrested two more accused, including Kundra
Earlier, nine persons had been arrested. They comprised television actress Gehna Vashisht (32) Yasmin Khan (40) Monu Joshi (28) Pratibha Nalavade (33) Atif Ahmed (24), Dipankar Khasnavis (38), Bhanusurya Thakur ( 26) Tanvir Hashmi (40) and Umesh Kamat (39).
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.
The HotShots app --- 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) – was removed from mobile platforms. Similarly, Apple and Google have removed the app because of the pornographic content in it.
On his part, 46-year-old Kundra has denied any involvement and has claimed that he had sold the "Hotshots" app to Pradip Bakshi. However, the police said Mr Kundra was kept in the loop about the finances of the app.
The police said that Kundra had allegedly also set up a WhatsApp group on which matters relating to the production, distribution and selling of Hotshots clips were discussed.
The UK-based firm was allegedly set up by Kundra and his brother-in-law, and registered in the UK so it could evade the Indian cyber-laws.
The two Kundra-linked firms — Viaan and Kendrin — made available porn content on mobile apps, offering subscriptions akin to the mainstream OTT platforms, advertise them on social media, all of which were illegal as pornography in any form is banned in India
The laws against publishing and transmitting "obscene material" are considered illegal in the country, while watching pornography in private is legal.
The modus operandi involved in the production and circulation of pornographic films was: the porn films were allegedly shot in India, transferred using WeTransfer to the UK and released as paid mobile apps there.