A shopkeeper from Ahmedabad has approached the Mumbai police against Raj Kundra, who is in Mumbai Crime Branch custody in a pornographic films racket case. The man has alleged that Kundra’s firm duped him of Rs 3 lakh on the pretext of making him a distributor for an online cricket skill-based game.
In his online complaint, Hiren Parmar has claimed that Kundra’s Viaan industries promised him distributorship of ‘Game of Dot’, but didn’t keep its promise. He claims to have been seeking a refund since 2019. Parmar reportedly complained to the Gujarat Cyber police, but no action was taken by them, he said. After Kundra’s arrest, the complainant decided to approach the Mumbai police. He has alleged that several others have been cheated similarly. Meanwhile, the Mumbai Crime Branch has said that Kundra is not cooperating with their probe into the alleged porn video racket case. Police officials said they will seek his further custody when he is produced before the court on Tuesday.
Kundra has been in the custody of the crime branch since July 19, when he was arrested along with his company’s IT head Ryan Thorpe from the office of Viaan Industries. The police have claimed that the office in Andheri has been used for production and distribution of pornographic videos.
According to the police, Kundra had a tie-up with his brother-in-law’s UK based firm, Kenrin, which owns the application ‘HotShots’. Pornographic content allegedly produced by Kundra’s former personal assistant Umesh Kamat was available for subscription after being uploaded on HotShots. The police have called in several other accused persons, including Gehana Vasisth, to record their statement after Kundra’s arrest. They have also called actor-model Sherlyn Chopra to record her statement on Tuesday. The Bombay HC on Tuesday will hear an application filed by Kundra and Thorpe. Both have approached the court for arresting them without serving a notice under Section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure. - (With Agencies)
