Raj Kundra's 4 employees become witnesses in porn case
Raj Kundra, the husband of actor Shilpa Shetty, is in more trouble as four of his employees have now come forward as key witnesses in the pornographic film racket case. The witnesses are crucial to the case as Kundra and others are not cooperating adequately. The development comes after a Mumbai court on Friday extended Kundra and his aide's police custody till July 27.
Crime Branch trying to derive information about functioning of racket
From the four witnesses, the Mumbai Police Crime Branch is hoping to unearth information about business deals, financial deals, and functioning of the racket, India Today reported. The agency is attempting to determine how the money was channeled for the functioning of the racket and production of the alleged pornographic videos. Reportedly, their statements will soon be recorded in front of the magistrate.
Crime Branch conducted searches at Kundra's office; a locker seized
The Crime Branch had on Saturday conducted another search operation at Kundra's office in Andheri West and seized a hidden locker. The officials claimed that the locker contained a lot of documents pertaining to businesses and cryptocurrency. The investigating agency is now examining the recovered documents, reports said. Earlier, a server and 70 pornographic videos were found during a raid at Kundra's house.
Probe agency was looking for a hidden locker: Reports
During the raids, the agency was reportedly looking for a locker containing all of the most important documents. The Crime Branch believed the locker was kept hidden in the office. However, the agency had failed to locate the locker in their previous search operations.
Kundra was arrested following a complaint filed by a woman
For the unversed, Raj Kundra was arrested by the Crime Branch on July 19 under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act. The case was registered in February after a woman complained that she was forced to shoot a pornographic video on the false promise of an acting job. Kundra was identified as the 'key conspirator' in the case.
What has Shetty said about the case?
Meanwhile, actor Shilpa Shetty sought to defend her husband, claiming that the movies that were circulated on Kundra's HotShots app were not "pornography but erotica." She also gave examples of "more obscene" content that is being circulated on other OTT apps and platforms. Shetty continues to deny her involvement in the case about the creation and publication of the alleged pornographic content.
