Raj Kundra: Indian millionaire embroiled in porn scandal

GBNews24 Desk//

Raj Kundra, a British citizen and the husband of Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty, is an industrialist and an owner of a cricket team in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the world’s richest cricket tournament, reports BBC.

Police now claim the 45-year-old is a “key conspirator” in a porn production ring that coerced several women to engage in sex videos that were posted on the internet.

Mr Kundra has denied any wrongdoing. His lawyer Abad Ponda said Mr Kundra’s “arrest is illegal”.

Nine people have been arrested so far in connection with the investigation, which was launched in February. They include an actor, producer and a company executive.

According to the police, the accused made false promises to lure women who had answered acting advertisements to participate in the videos.

These clips – allegedly shot in rented bungalows – were then uploaded to mobile phone apps for some 400,000 subscribers who paid 200-400 rupees (about $2.70-$5.40; £1.95-£3.90) a month. And Mr Kundra, according to the police, was the owner of a company involved in featuring the porn clips on these platforms.

Mr Kundra was arrested from his residence – a sprawling bungalow in the city of Mumbai – on 20 July. He is facing charges of cheating, sale of obscene content and “obscene and indecent advertisements and displays”.

Under Indian law, publishing or transmitting “obscene” material, including pornography is illegal and punishable by up to seven years in jail.

But the industry still thrives in the country – its popularity in large part driven by the internet. Indians are believed to be among the largest consumers of online pornography – and were ranked third in a list of countries published by Pornhub, the world’s largest pornographic video-sharing website, after the United States and Britain.