The former Big Brother star Shilpa Shetty burst into tears and threw a spate of insults at her husband Raj Kundra during a fiery encounter at their property in Juhu that was broken up police. As authorities searched the building, she reportedly told her husband that he had brought a bad name to the family as well as destroyed any hopes of future financial sponsorships. “We have everything, what was the need to do all this,” she reportedly told her husband as he arrived at their home.
The businessman was arrested recently after allegedly luring a woman into making an X-rated film with the promise of an acting job. Police currently believe he a is ‘key conspirator’ in the pornographic film case and had extended his custody amid an ongoing investigation.
Shilpa, meanwhile, denied any involvement in the alleged offenses, but faced questioning on the day that the alleged row ensued. She reportedly told the police that she had no concrete information about what content was shown on the adult film app "Hotshot," which allegedly streamed pornographic content. She told police she was "unaware of the exact nature of the content" on the app, describing it as "erotica" rather than pornography.
But, after officers seized 48 terabytes of images and videos from the Bollywood star's home during a search, cops are now seeking to clone her phone and may also bring her in for a second round of questioning. They are also investigating whether Shilpa benefited from her husband's alleged links to the porn film business as part of her position as director of his firm, Viaan, from which she has now resigned after allegations came to light.
SEBI nails Kundra and Shilpa
Market regulator SEBI, meanwhile, imposed a penalty of Rs 300,000 on the couple and their company Viaan Industries for contravening insider trading rules. Kundra, Shetty and Viaan have been fined for a three-year delay in the disclosure of an allotment of preferential shares. In 2015, Viaan Industries had made a preferential allotment of 500,000 equity shares. Of this 128,800 equity shares each were allotted to Kundra and Shilpa, the promoters of the company. According to SEBI's Prohibition of Insider Trading Rules, 2015, the promoters had to disclose this transaction to the company within two days if it exceeded Rs 10,00,000 in value. The company, in turn, has to relay this disclosure to the stock exchanges within two trading days.
Bail denied to Kundra
A Mumbai court Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, SB Bhajipale, meanwhile, refused to grant bail to Kundra and his associate Ryan Thorpe in the case pertaining to alleged production and distribution of porn content. Accordingly, Kundra, a British national who was arrested by the Mumbai Police on July 19, will remain in judicial custody till Aug. 10, as ordered by the magistrate court.
Kundra, through senior advocate Abad Ponda, had filed a separate petition in the Bombay High Court challenging his arrest, which he contended was 'illegal,’ and appealed to quash all the orders of the Metropolitan Magistrate Court remanding him to police and then judicial custody.
However Justice A S Gadkari refused to grant any interim relief to Kundra before hearing the police version in the matter. Making a strong plea for bail, Ponda said that the chargesheet has already been filed in the case and invoked grounds of parity saying all the other accused are enlarged on bail.
He contended that some of the other accused have been booked under far more serious charges compared to Kundra, who could face jail term for a maximum of seven years. Opposing the bail plea, the public prosecutor said that a second FIR has also been registered in the case, the financial audit of Kundra's companies is yet to be completed and more victims are coming forward with their grievances.
51 films seized
The public prosecutor informed the Bombay high court that “51 pornographic films were seized” from two apps by Mumbai crime branch and Kundra and Ryan Thorpe were arrested as they had “started deleting WhatsApp group and chats’’ and hence “destroying evidence”.
At a hearing via videoconferencing before the bench of Justice Gadkari, Pai said the duo is accused of “serious offences of porn streaming content” and police “also seized material from phone and storage device”. She said there was an “email message from Kundra on his Hotshot app with one Pardeep Bakshi, his brother-in-law, who owns a company in London...” Police “found obscene and bold videos” and information on a number of subscribers, payments received, she said.
