Actress-model Sagarika Shona claims Raj Kundra, 2 others demanded her to give nude audition for web-series

New Delhi: Businessman Raj Kundra, remanded in police custody till July 23 by a Mumbai court on Tuesday in a porn film case, was involved in making and selling pornographic material and gaining financially from illegal activity, the crime branch alleged while seeking his remand. 

Raj Kundra (45), husband of Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty, was arrested by the Mumbai crime branch on Monday night in a case, which it said, related to alleged creation of pornographic films and publishing them through some apps. 

Now, after his arrest, an undated interview of Sagarika has come to the fore. The actress-model has levelled a series of allegations against Kundra, claiming that she was offered a role in a web-series produced by him in August 2020. 

Sagarika claimed that she was asked to give her audition for the project via video call, where three people, including Raj Kundra and Umesh Kamat, demanded a nude audition from her. She added that they lured her with the project and big money and tried convincing her to give the nude audition. 

She, however, added that Kundra apparently had her face covered in the video call. She also questioned that why Shilpa Shetty has not been arrested when she too was the owner of the JL Stream app.

Meanwhile, the Mumbai Police Crime Branch said that there were several WhatsApp chats that revealed Kundra was involved in the financial dealings of apps and their contents. The police also said three women have come forward with complaints in the case, saying they were "forced to act in pornographic movies". 

The accused persons took advantage of struggling models, actors and other workers, and made them work in these pornographic movies, the police said, adding these movies were shot in rented bungalows in Mumbai. Kundra was taken into custody after being booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act. 

The police also arrested another person, identified as Ryan Thorpe, who was working on a senior position with an app firm, from his office along with Kundra after an enquiry into the matter, an official said. Kundra and Thope were produced before a magistrate's court here which remanded both of them in police custody till July 23. The