In a sensational revelation in the pornographic films case, businessman and actor Shilpa Shetty’s husband Raj Kundra was able to avoid arrest till now by paying bribe to the tune of Rs 25 lakh to Mumbai Police’s Crime Branch officials, a wanted accused in the case has alleged.
Arvind Srivastava alias Yash Thakur, an absconding accused who was named as the racket’s kingpin in March, had emailed a complaint to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in the same month, alleging that Kundra paid bribe of Rs 25 lakh to Crime Branch sleuths to avoid getting arrested in the case, according to a report by Mid-Day.
The report further stated that in April, the ACB forwarded Thakur’s complaint to the Mumbai Police chief’s office. Officers, however, have refused to make any comment on the matter.
The case in connection with the alleged porn films racket was registered in February this year, but Kundra’s arrest was recorded by the Crime Branch officials on Monday (July 19).
The businessman is in police custody till July 23. He has been booked under sections 420 (cheating), 34 (common intention), 292 and 293 (related to obscene and indecent advertisements and displays) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Information Technology Act and the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act.
The police have described the 45-year-old businessman as the "key conspirator" of the case.
He was involved in the creation of pornographic films and publishing them through an OTT app named 'Hotshots'.
After Google Play took down the 'Hotshots' app over policy violations, Kundra had a 'Plan B' in place, his purported WhatsApp chats have revealed.
At least four screenshots of Kundra's purported WhatsApp chats are doing rounds on social media platforms, wherein he was allegedly seen discussing the 'Plan B' with other members of the group.