Shilpa Shetty questioned, Raj Kundra's police custody extended: 10 points

Actor Shilpa Shetty was questioned by the Mumbai Police’s crime branch on Friday in connection with the alleged porn racket involving her husband Raj Kundra. A local court in Mumbai extended Kundra's police custody till July 27. Kundra was arrested on July 19 by the police under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act.

Raj Kundra was arrested by the Mumbai Police on Monday night for allegedly creating pornographic films and publishing them through mobile applications. The Mumbai Police have said they have arrested a total of 11 people, including Kundra, so far for their alleged involvement in the crime. Kundra has moved the Bombay High Court challenging magisterial remand order.

Here's what we know so far:

1. A crime branch team took Raj Kundra to his Juhu residence on Friday where they recorded Shilpa Shetty’s statement. During the search, police seized a laptop from the house.

2. Police said the actor was the former director of Viaan Industries, from the premises of which the racket was being handled by Umesh Kamat, a close associate of Kundra. Kamat has also been arrested.

3. A court in Mumbai extended the police custody of businessman Raj Kundra and his associate, Ryan Thorpe, till July 27 in the case.

4. The police, while seeking further custody, claimed in the court that Kundra had plans to sell 119 adult films for $1.2 million to a person. Separately, an investigation officer said that the police also wanted to probe the alleged transfer of funds from a sports betting firm based in South Africa into Kundra's bank account.

5. The police told the court they found during their probe that Kundra set up Armsprime Media Pvt Ltd, which through London-based Kenrin Pvt Ltd bought the Hot Shots app to upload "objectionable videos" on social media. Kundra's phone contained WhatsApp chats regarding Kenrin and its financial transactions.

Also read | Raj Kundra paid police ₹25 lakh to evade arrest: Report

6. The police wanted to probe if this deal went through and the videos were transferred. They added that searches at the accused's office led to the seizure of 51 obscene videos.

7. An employee who handled accounts of Hot Shots told investigators that between August 2019 and November 2020 it earned a net profit of GBP 4,000 to 10,000 per month, police said.

8. Since Thorpe allegedly directed the company's employees to remove all data related to the Hot Shots app after a case was registered in February this year, sections of IPC related to "destruction of evidence" have been added to the case, the police said.

Also read | Mumbai Police recover 70 porn videos made on Raj Kundra's order: Reports

9. The police said in their application in the court that they also wanted to record the statements of the women who were allegedly lured and forced into acting in porn films.

10. Kundra later moved the Bombay High Court, seeking quashing of the lower court's order remanding him in police custody. He claimed that the alleged porn videos in question did not contain any sexually explicit scenes. The petition is yet to be heard.

(With agency inputs)