A new First Instance Report or FIR has been filed in connection to the pornography scandal shaking up Bollywood, with Shilpa Shetty Kundra’s husband Raj Kundra at the centre of the storm.
The Mumbai Crime Branch lodged a fresh complaint against producers of Kundra’s company, as well as actress Gehana Vasisth, who were late booked.
According to media reports, the case was registered by the crime branch’s property cell after an actress approached the police and alleged she was forced to shoot for a pornographic film for the HotShots app.
The FIR was registered under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 420 (cheating), 392 (punishment for robbery), 393 (attempt to commit robbery), and provisions of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act and the Information Technology Act, the official stated.
Kundra, 45, was arrested on July 19 by Mumbai Crime Branch for a case related to the alleged filming and distribution of pornographic films through mobile apps. The 45-year-old has been sentenced to remain in judicial custody until August 10, with his lawyer moving the High Court to get Kundra out on bail.
According to the police statement at a magistrate’s court, Kundra earned close to Rs11.7 million between August and December last year, at a time when India was grappling with a coronavirus lockdown and entertainment arenas and theatres were shut across the country.
Kundra and his wife Shetty Kundra have claimed he is innocent, adding that the films are not pornography but erotica and don’t engage in explicit sexual acts. Vasisth, who has also been named in the new FIR, has also repeated the same argument.
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Vasisth, who was arrested in February this year and later granted bail, and two others were recently summoned by the crime branch’s property cell.
The Mumbai Crime Branch had started investigation into the case in February 2021 following complaints that small-time artistes who were eager on breaking into Bollywood were being lured by promises for a break in a web series. It was alleged that Vasisth, who starred in the Ekta Kapoor-backed ‘Gandii Baat’ was a part of this operation and had even shot some videos.
A total of 11 people have been arrested in the scandal so far, which includes producer Roma Khan, her husband, actress Vasisth, director Tanveer Hashmi and Umesh Kamath (who used to look after India operations of Kundra’s firm), according to The Hindu.
