Shilpa Shetty's husband Raj Kundra remanded to police custody till 23 July in pornography-related case

A Mumbai court on Tuesday remanded businessman Raj Kundra in police custody till 23 July in a case related to the alleged creation of pornographic films and publishing them through some apps. Businessman and husband of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, Kundra, was arrested on Monday by the Mumbai police, a senior official said. The police said they have seized Kundra’s mobile phone and its contents need to be scrutinised and also his business dealings and transactions have to be looked into. Apart from Kundra, the police also produced before the court another accused, Ryan Thorpe, who too was arrested in the case on Monday. He was also remanded in police custody till 23 July. Kundra (45), arrested by the Crime Branch after being booked under relevant sections of the IPC and the Information Technology Act, appears to be the key conspirator of the case, he said. “There was a case registered with the Crime Branch Mumbai in Feb 2021 about the creation of pornographic films and publishing them through some Apps. We’ve arrested Mr Raj Kundra in this case on 19/7/21 as he appears to be the key conspirator of this. We have sufficient evidence regarding this,” the Mumbai Police Commissioner said in a statement. The case was registered on 4 February at the Malwani police station in suburban Mumbai. An FIR was registered against Kundra after a woman approached the police and made certain allegations in her complaint, another official said. “On that basis, the FIR was registered and the case transferred to the Crime Branch. Earlier also, we had registered cases related to pornography in which an actress and some other persons were made accused,” he said. “We will probe the Raj Kundra case and find out is there is any link between this and pornography cases which we had registered earlier,” the official said. Kundra was booked under IPC sections 420 (cheating), 34 (common intention), 292 and 293 (related to obscene and indecent advertisements and displays) besides relevant sections of the IT Act and the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, he added. Further investigation was underway, the official added.