Raj Kundra, Shilpa Shetty's Husband, Streamed Porn Through App: Police

Businessman Raj Kundra, the husband of actor Shilpa Shetty, was involved in the streaming of pornographic videos through an app called "Hotshots", the Mumbai Police told a court on Tuesday, a day after arresting him. He was sent to police custody till Friday in the scandal involving the production of porn films.

The police described Raj Kundra, 45, as a "key conspirator" in the case and said it had sufficient evidence against him. His aide Ryan Thorpe, who looked after his company's IT, was arrested on Tuesday.

"Hotshots" has now been removed from mobile platforms and both Apple and Google have removed the app due to pornographic content.

The police said they found proof including clips from Mr Kundra's office.

"We found agreement papers, emails , accounts WhatsApp chats and pornographic clips from his office during the search," Milind Bharambe, Joint Commissioner of Mumbai Police, told reporters.

The police told the court that his involvement was exposed after the arrest of a woman, Gahna Vashist, who named the businessman's former personal assistant Umesh Kamat. Umesh Kamat then revealed Mr Kundra's involvement, according to the police.

Mr Kundra has denied any involvement and has claimed that he had sold the "Hotshots" app to another accused wanted by the police, Pradip Bakshi. But the police said Mr Kundra kept routinely updated on the finances of the app. He had allegedly also set up a WhatsApp group on which the production, distribution and selling of Hotshots clips was discussed.

Gahna Vashisht and Umesh Kamat were both involved in producing and shooting porn, writing scripts; they also copied Mr Kundra while mailing scripts, the police said.

Women were paid around ₹10,000 for the clips. Some of them alleged that they were reeled in with offers of roles in web series and then forced to shoot porn.

Mr Kundra, who lives in Mumbai with his wife Shilpa Shetty and two children, faces charges like cheating and "obscene and indecent advertisements and displays". Charges under the IT Act and the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act have also been listed against him. These could potentially lead to five to seven years in jail.

Nine people have been arrested so far. The police have clarified that investigations have revealed no active role of Shilpa Shetty.

The case was registered on February 4 after a woman approached the police and complained about being forced to do a porn film after being promised an acting job, a police officer quoted by PTI said.

The prominent businessman, who was earlier linked to IPL match-fixing charges, was questioned after Umesh Kamat, caught for uploading obscene videos through a UK firm, named him. The company was allegedly set up by Mr Kundra and his brother, and registered in the UK so it could evade Indian cyber-laws. Laws against publishing and transmitting "obscene material" are tough in the country, though watching pornography in private is legal.

The porn films were allegedly shot in India, transferred using WeTransfer to the UK and released on paid mobile apps. The police said the films were shot in houses and hotels rented in Mumbai. Models were allegedly pulled in with promises of film offers and then forced to shoot porn. 

In 2015, he was banned for life from all cricket-related activities following an investigation into match-fixing during his stint as the co-owner of the Rajasthan Royals with Shilpa Shetty.