In connection with a case filed by the cyber crime police in November 2020, a sessions court in Mumbai has denied Shilpa Shetty’s husband and businessman Raj Kundra’s application for anticipatory release.
Based on a complaint from a retired customs agent, the cyber crime section filed a FIR against 14 OTT platforms and web sites for obscene content in 2020.
Kundra’s bail application will be reviewed on August 20 in a separate case being investigated by the Mumbai crime branch in connection with the porn video racket.
The Mumbai crime branch, on the other hand, has rejected his bail request, claiming that if Raj Kundra and his company’s IT chief, Ryan Thorpe, are released on bail, women and victims who have come forward to provide testimony since the case was filed may decline to do so out of fear of the accused.
The Mumbai Police said in a 10-page affidavit that other impacted ladies and victims have approached them with their complaints after the FIR was filed.
The criminal branch stated that keeping Raj Kundra in detention was necessary to prevent him from influencing such witnesses. Raj Kundra was arrested, according to the police, for attempting to remove evidence from his electronic equipment.
They indicated that there was more evidence in the case to be discovered, but it could not be ruled out the potential that after being freed from detention, Kundra would try to destroy the extra evidence.
They said Kundra refused to sign the seizure panchnama after the search and seizure in his office.
According to police, he also refused to acknowledge the notice issued under Section 41A(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure and was unresponsive during the interrogation. Raj Kundra allegedly sought to delete data from his phone, hinting that he would not cooperate with the investigation.
The authorities are also concerned that Raj Kundra may return to making such filthy recordings, endangering the society’s moral and cultural fibre. The affidavit claimed, “The same may also send out a negative message to society.”
Raj Kundra, according to the affidavit, established another app called “Bolly Fame” as a replacement for the Hotshots app, which had to be shut down. The police wanted to see whether there were any more applications that needed to be looked at.
The police stated that they were still looking into his bank statements, which contained information on alleged financial transactions made during the time the crime was committed.
Raj Kundra is a British national, therefore there’s a chance he’ll flee or refuse to cooperate with the inquiry, according to the police.
