Shilpa Shetty's husband Raj Kundra was "the key conspirator" in a case involving the creation and publication of adult films via internet apps in India | Picture: Instagram
Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty has spoken for the first time since her husband’s porn scandal made headlines.
According to AFP, Mumbai police arrested Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty’s husband Raj Kundra in mid-July for allegedly producing and broadcasting pornographic films online.
The arrest came six years after the businessman was banned from cricket-related activities over match-fixing charges.
Police announced Kundra’s arrest late Monday, calling the 45-year-old “the key conspirator” in a case involving the creation and publication of adult films via internet apps.
“We have sufficient evidence regarding this,” police said in a press release, adding that investigations were ongoing.
The arrest is the latest scandal to hit Kundra, who has two children with Shetty, the 2007 winner of British reality show “Celebrity Big Brother”.
Shetty took to Twitter to issue a statement on the matter and asked for privacy during this time for the sake of her children.
She described the ordeal as “challenging on every front.”
“There have been a lot of rumours and accusations. A lot of unwarranted aspersions on me cast by the media and (not so) well-wishers as well,” wrote Shetty.
She also said that she has not officially commented on her husband’s legal woes yet and vowed not to do so as the case is still sub judice.
According to Shetty, her celebrity philosophy is “never complain. Never explain,” and added that she will be doing just that.
“But, till then I humbly request you – especially as a mother – to respect our privacy for my children’s sake and request you refrain from commenting on half-baked information without verifying the veracity of the same.”
She confirmed that her family has sought legal recourse and said that she had faith in the Mumbai police and India’s justice system.
“We don’t deserve a media trial. Please let the law take its course,” concluded Shetty.
In 2015, Kundra was banned for life from all cricket-related activities, following an investigation into match-fixing during his stint as the co-owner with Shetty of the Rajasthan Royals, a franchise in the hugely successful Indian Premier League.
India has stringent laws against publishing and transmitting “obscene material”, but watching pornography in private is legal.
Kundra appeared in court towards the end of July and was denied bail. During proceedings, the court heard how Kundra allegedly told aspiring actresses they could break into Bollywood through his company, Viaan Industries, which allegedly produced pornographic content for Hotshots, an adults-only mobile app.
The women were then pressured into shooting sex scenes on the pretext of securing a foothold in the Hindi film industry.
US-based YouTube and TikTok influencer Puneet Kaur said the businessman contacted her on Instagram this year asking her to enter a contest on Hotshots.
“This man was really luring people — we literally thought it was spam when he sent that DM to me!? Jesus Christ man rot in jail,” Kaur posted on Instagram last week.
According to the adult site Pornhub, the nation of 1.3 billion was its third-largest source of traffic in 2018, behind the United States and Britain.
In 2015, a government-appointed board of censors blocked the release of the erotic film “Fifty Shades of Grey” in cinemas, despite being shown a toned-down version, sparking claims of moral policing.
Additional reporting by AFP
