Explained: Why has Raj Kundra been arrested and what is the adult film racket?

Businessman Raj Kundra, husband of actor and businesswoman Shilpa Shetty, was arrested by the Mumbai Police on Monday in connection with an adult film racket. What is the case, and does Kundra face any other similar case?

What is the case in which Raj Kundra has been arrested?

On February 4 of this year, the Mumbai police said they had arrested five people for allegedly forcing women into porn movies. They would promise these aspiring actresses, who came to Mumbai from various parts of the country, roles in web series. However, on the day of the shoot, they would change the script and threaten the women to expose themselves. If the women refused, they were asked to foot the bill for the shooting preparations.

Once the movies were shot, the accused made them available on mobile apps, offering subscriptions on the lines of mainstream OTT platforms. They would then put up advertisements on social media platforms. Since pornography is illegal in India, this too was against the law.

How and where were these movies shot?

According to the police, it would normally be a daylong shoot at a rented bungalow on the outskirts of Mumbai, like Madh Island. There would be minimal staff of five to six people who would double up as directors, dialogue writers, locations scouters and web app developers. These apps became especially popular during the lockdown, with some having a subscriber base in lakhs, said the police.

What does the police say was the role of Raj Kundra?

There were two aspects of the police probe. One was nabbing those who produced these porn shows and the other focused on those who broadcast these clips. Some of these production houses broadcast from servers outside the country.

One such UK production house, found to be uploading such content, came under the police scanner and its executive Umesk Kamat was arrested. An officer said that it was Kundra’s alleged connection to Kamat and the company that uploaded such pornographic content that landed him in trouble.

Are any other similar cases pending against Kundra?

Kundra had applied for anticipatory bail last month in connection with a case registered by the Maharashtra Cyber police last year. In that case too, the cyber police had registered an FIR against various platforms which they said were involved in showcasing pornographic content. The court is likely to decide on the anticipatory bail application next week.

• Image Source: Hindustan Times
• Article Source: Indian Express