Raj Kundra case: Police record Shilpa Shetty's statement; actor says content on HotShots app erotica, not porn

-

Mumbai Police’s Crime Branch on Friday recorded the statement of actress Shilpa Shetty in connection with her husband Raj Kundra's alleged business of pornographic films. Kundra was arrested on 19 July for allegedly financing pornographic films through apps and using the proceeds for betting.

Sources have told CNN-News18 that the actress has pleaded not guilty, adding that she was not aware of the application hosting porn films. She has said that no pornographic content was produced and circulated on the HotShots app and that most of its content was only erotica. She was also quizzed about JL Stream, the online streaming portal still available in India that produces adult content.

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

Kundra’s two bank accounts in Union Bank of Africa and Yes Bank are under scanner, as it is alleged that revenue from the HotShots app was being used by the businessman for online betting.

Kundra was arrested under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act. He, along with his company's IT head Ryan Thorpe, was produced before the magistrate after their earlier remand expired on Friday. Seeking the duo's further custody, the police told the court that the probe found 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 economic transactions. Searches at the accused's office led to the seizure of 51 obscene videos, the police said. An employee who handled accounts of Hotshots 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, adding that Kundra's company Viaan Industries was involved in the maintenance of the app.

Viaan's employees told the police that the app was removed from Google Play in June 2020 and the Apple app store in November as it had obscene content, the remand plea said. Thorpe allegedly directed the employees to remove all data related to the Hotshots app after a case was registered in February this year, so IPC sections related to “destruction of evidence” have been added to the case, the police said.

The police also wanted to record the statements of the women who were allegedly lured and forced into acting in porn films by the accused, the application said.

Shetty was questioned on the same day when a Mumbai court extended Kundra and Thorpe’s custody till 27 July. Searches were also conducted at Shetty and Kundra’s Juhu residence, from where a laptop was seized.

Kundra 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 might be described as "lascivious" but do not show "explicit sexual acts".

Kundra had previously claimed that he sold off his business to his brother-in-law in the UK, but property cell officers found that Kundra had lied, according to News18. Through investigation, it has come to light that Kundra was actively involved in day-to-day decisions in the operation of the HotShots app.

Police sources say WhatsApp groups created for the functioning of the porn racket hint at Kundra’s involvement. In one of the groups, where he is an admin, participants monitored erotic videos, or soft porn, of other web portals and apps to ensure that they aren’t stolen from Kundra’s company. Another WhatsApp group was used to discuss actors, storylines, edits, locations, crew members, and final rollout.

With inputs from agencies



from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3iMeylr
FP Staff

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Both COVID-19 vaccine doses needed for good protection against B16172 variant

-
It’s been a concerning few weeks in the UK, with the B16172 variant first taking hold and then spreading to become dominant. This more infectious form of the virus, initially identified in India, is what we’re now going to have to live with – unless it is out-competed by another variant in the future. Worryingly, experts had predicted that B16172 might be able to escape some of the effects of vaccines, which if true would threaten to derail the UK’s plans to finish lifting restrictions from the end of June. However, Public Health England (PHE) has looked at the ability of various variants to evade immunity and says that the UK’s vaccines remain effective against the variants circulating, including B16172. On the surface, this looks like good news. But delve a bit deeper, and things get more complicated, says Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia. PHE’s research found a little drop-off in protection against B16172 among people who were fully vaccinated.
Read more

New coronavirus variant emerge in India: How should our COVID response change?

-
Image
After genome sequencing of over 10,000 COVID-19 cases in India, researchers have discovered a new variant with two new mutations which may be better at evading the immune system. In 15-20 percent of samples from the Indian state of Maharashtra (the state accounting for 62 percent of cases in the country) a new, double mutation in key areas of the virus has been detected. These are now known as the E484Q and L452R mutations. What makes the variant different? Both these mutations are concerning because they are located in a key portion of the virus – the spike protein – that it uses to penetrate human cells. Spike proteins attach via a “receptor binding domain”, meaning the virus can attach to receptors in our cells. These new mutations include changes to the spike protein that make it a “better fit” for human cells. This means the virus can gain entry more easily and multiply faster. Given what we have seen with other similar mutations , it might also make it harder for our immu
Read more

Aditya L1 Mission: Spacecraft is nearing its final phase, says ISRO chief

-
Aditya L1 spacecraft is nearing its final phase, and manoeuvres to enter the L1 point are expected to be completed by January 7, 2024, according to ISRO Chairman S Somanath. “Aditya is on the way. I think it has reached almost its final phase,” the ISRO chief told PTI on the sidelines of an event organised at VSSC to commemorate the 60th year of the First Sounding Rocket Launch. Aditya L1, India’s first space-based mission to study the Sun, was successfully launched on September 2 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota. The spacecraft, after travelling about 1.5 million km from Earth over 125 days, is expected to be placed in a Halo orbit around the Lagrangian point L1, considered closest to the Sun. He said that the last preparations for the spacecraft’s entry into the L1 point are currently underway incrementally.”Possibly by January 7th, the final manoeuvres will be done for entering into the L1 point,” Somanath added. Among other tasks, it will capture and tr
Read more