In the investigation surrounding the arrest of businessman Raj Kundra in connection with a porn racket, the Mumbai Crime Branch on Friday revealed to Bombay High Court that they have evidence that Kundra was in talks about a deal to sell 121 pornographic videos for $1.2 million.
According to Indian newswire ANI, police told the Court that they suspect that money earnt from pornography by Kundra was used for online betting.
"This is why transactions between Raj Kundra's Yes bank account and United Bank of Africa account need to be investigated," Mumbai Police said to the court.
Kundra, whose police custody has been extended until 27 July, filed a petition on Friday in the Court, challenging his arrest in a case of alleged production and distribution of pornographic films through HotShots apps.
Kundra's lawyer Subhash Jadhav claimed: "Raj Kundra’s arrest is illegal. There is not a single video that can be called pornographic. A 4000-page charge-sheet has been filed but the police were not even able to point out any sexually explicit act in the video which demonstrated illegality (sic).”
Kundra's wife, actress Shilpa Shetty Kundra, was interrogated by the police and recorded her statement as they conducted a raid on Friday at their residence in Mumbai city.
Several actresses such as Poonam Pandey, Sherlyn Chopra, Puneet Kaur, and Sagarika Shona Suman have raised their voices against Kundra and his associates in connection with the porn racket. Many aspiring actresses filed a police complaint in February this year alleging that they were forced to film semi-nude and nude scenes on the promise of getting cast in web shows.
Apart from the leaked WhatsApp chats and emails revealing details of their alleged pornographic business, the copy of the contract which aspiring actresses used to sign is also doing the rounds on the internet.
Kundra's WhatsApp chats, which were leaked in the public domain, revealed how they had been making millions every day.