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Millionaire Raj Kundra has been arrested by police who suspect he is a "key conspirator" in a porn production scandal that coerced women to engage in sexual acts.
- Raj Kundra has been arrested suspected of being a "key conspirator" in a porn production app.
- It is alleged that women were tricked into filming sexual content for the app.
- Obscene material – including pornography – is illegal in India.
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Police believe the 45-year-old Kundra ran the Hotshots app – app for the consumption of pornographic material, which was blacklisted by Google Play and Apple, according to the Hindustan Times.
Kundra is a successful British-Indian businessman and owns a cricket team in India. He was arrested at his home in Mumbai, India on July 20, facing "obscene and indecent advertisements and displays."
In India, publishing and sharing of "obscene" material – including pornography – is punishable by up to seven years in jail.
The team behind the HotShots app is said to have lured women under the guise of an acting audition which could lead to their on-screen 'break'. They would then be coerced into performing sexual acts, which would be filmed and uploaded to the app.
Hotshots had 400,000 subscribers who paid between 200-400 rupees (about $2.70-$5.40) a month, reported the BBC.
The Times of India reports that the police say they have proof that Kundra ran the app from his London office, have documentation outlining his role, as well as indicting text messages.
Actor Shilpa Shetty - Kundra's wife - has been questioned by Mumbai Police's crime branch in relation to this investigation. Shetty has denied her involvement in this organization and says that her husband is innocent.
Kundra has argued that this is an incorrect indictment against him, filing a plea to the Mumbai High Court saying that the content on Hotshots was not pornographic as it did not portray explicit sex. His lawyer argued it was vulgar - not obscene.
Kundra's lawyer also termed the arrest as illegal as a prior notice was not served.
Kundra was initially held in custody until July 23 and it was extended to July 27.