Shilpa Shetty's husband accused of sex assault by...

Shilpa Shetty's husband accused of sex assault by...

Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty's husband has been accused of sexual assault by Indian film star Sherlyn Chopra following his arrest for allegedly producing pornographic films. 

Ms Chopra told police Raj Kundra had forced himself on her even though she resisted after showing up at her house unannounced in 2019, the Times of India reported. 

Mr Kundra allegedly started kissing Ms Chopra and did not stop when she told him she was scared and that she did not want to be involved with a married man or mix business with pleasure. 

Ms Chopra said Mr Kundra then told her his marriage was complicated and that he was frequently stressed. She explained she eventually managed to push him off and escape to the bathroom.  

The alleged assault happened after Mr Kundra approached her agent about a project and they organised a meeting for March 27, 2019.

Ms Chopra claims Mr Kundra later showed up to her house unannounced due to a heated argument over text, she told police during questioning.  

It comes after a Mumbai court on Wednesday denied bail for Mr Kundra.

The 45-year-old was arrested on July 19 in Mumbai by police who said they have 'sufficient evidence' that he is a 'key conspirator' in a porn production ring.  He has denied the allegations. 

Publishing or transmitting 'obscene' material including porn is illegal in India under a 2015 law and punishable by up to seven years in jail.

Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty's husband Raj Kundra (pictured together) has been accused of sexual assault by Indian film star Sherlyn Chopra following his arrest for allegedly producing pornographic films

Actress Sherlyn Chopra has accused Raj Kundra of sexual assaulting her during a surprise visit to her home in 2019

Media reports say Kundra is accused of telling 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.

Ms Shetty, the 2007 winner of British reality show 'Celebrity Big Brother', has not commented publicly since the arrest of her husband but reportedly told police he was producing 'erotica, not porn' and was innocent. 

But Ms Shetty accused her husband of destroying her reputation in a furious row during a police raid over his alleged connections to illegal porn films, it emerged on Tuesday.  

Ms Shetty, 46, had a 'showdown' with husband Raj Kundra that only ended when police intervened, the Hindustan Times reported. 

She burst into tears in the heated exchange with Mr Kundra, telling him the case had led to financial losses because sponsors no longer wanted to be associated with her. 

'We have everything, what was the need to do all this,' she told her husband as he arrived at their home, NDTV reported. 

There is currently no evidence Ms Shetty was involved in the alleged porn production. 

Ms Chopra told police Raj Kundra had forced himself on her even though she resisted after showing up at her house unannounced in 2019

Mr Kundra, 45, was arrested on July 19 in Mumbai by police who said they have 'sufficient evidence' that he is a 'key conspirator' in a porn production ring. He returned to Mumbai High Court for a bail hearing on Tuesday

Police seized 48 terabytes of 'mostly adult' images and videos during the raid, the Times of India reported. 

Mr Kundra attempted to cover his tracks by changing his phone to prevent data from the device being found by police after nine people were arrested in the case in March, ANI reported. 

He told investigators he threw away the old device, but police believe the phone contains valuable pieces of evidence and are hoping to recover it. 

Police have also seized Mr Kundra and Ms Shetty's financial records, including details of transactions from a joint account. They are investigating whether money from the adult content was invested in Bitcoin, the Times of India reported.   

Mr Kundra returned to Mumbai High Court today for a bail hearing and police are hoping to extend his detention. 

Ms Shetty was questioned by police on Friday. She told them she believed Mr Kundra was innocent and claimed his brother-in-law Pradeep Bakshi was the one involved with mobile app 'HotShots', which allegedly streamed pornographic content, the Economic Times reported. 

She said she was 'unaware of the exact nature of the content' on the app, but described it as 'erotica' rather than pornography. 

Officers are seeking to clone Ms Shetty's phone and may also bring her in for a second round of questioning.

Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty has accused her husband (pictured together at the International Indian Film Academy Awards in Toronto in 2011) of destroying her reputation during a police raid over his alleged connections to illegal porn films

Police seized 48 terabytes of adult images and videos in a raid on Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty's home on Friday as part of a probe into her husband's alleged connections to illegal porn films

Four of Mr Kundra's employees have become witnesses in the case after telling police they were asked to delete clips from Hotspots. 

The app was eventually removed from the Google Play Store and Apple Store, but they told police Mr Kundra launched 'plan B' - a second app called Bollyfame.    

Mr Kundra is accused of luring women into making a porn film, using the promise of getting them an acting job. 

Once the woman agreed to the 'acting job' producers would change the script and force them to perform sex acts, police told the Times. 

If they refused, they were told they had to pay for the shoot, often held in a rented house on the outskirts of Mumbai. 

The clips were then sent via WeTransfer to the UK, where they were released on paid mobile apps.

Alleged director Tanveer Hashmi, who has denied ever meeting Mr Kundra, described the clips as 'soft porn... short films of 20-25 minutes, which had nudity'.

Mr Hashmi added: 'I cannot judge anybody and only the law will decide. 

'I cannot comment on it but the only thing is there are several platforms that are making bold content and they are not questioned.' 

An investigation was launched on February 3 after a woman complained to the police about being forced to do the movie under the false pretences, according to the Press Trust of India. 

Nine other people, including an actor, producer and an executive, were arrested in the probe in March. 

Police are now investigating whether Ms Shetty benefitted from her husband's alleged links to the pornographic film business as part of her position as director of his firm, Viaan. 

She resigned from the company after the allegations came to light but police are probing if money generated from adult content ended up in her accounts.

The 2007 Celebrity Big Brother star reportedly wept during questioning, complaining to police her reputation had been destroyed by the allegations.

Raj Kundra, 45, pictured arriving at Mumbai's Esplanade Court, also known as Killa Court, on Tuesday. It is alleged that Kundra lured a woman into making a porn film, using the promise of getting her an acting job

Bollywood actress and Celebrity Big Brother star Shilpa Shetty (pictured right) has given a statement to Indian police as they investigate her husband's connections to 'illegal porn films'. Pictured left: Shetty's husband Raj Kundra

Kundra allegedly set up a film company with his brother, registering it in the UK to evade Indian cyber laws. 

He reportedly left the company and has denied any wrongdoing, while his lawyer has objected to classifying the content as pornography.

In a court hearing on Thursday, Abad Ponda suggested the content in question did not show sexual intercourse, and was just vulgar content.

'Police is following what web series are doing these days - vulgar content. But that's not really classified as porn. Nothing in this remand shows that two people actually indulged in act of intercourse. If it's not actual intercourse, it's not classified as porn,' Mr Ponda told the court, according to NDTV. 

Model-actress Poonam Pandey has also reportedly filed a case against the businessman and his colleagues, claiming they illegally used her content. 

Kundra and his colleagues deny the claims and say they haven't received any notice until now. 

Police apprehended nine people last week after actors were reportedly 'forced' to shoot naked scenes for porn films, which were then released or streamed on apps. 

Another line of police enquiry are the financial transactions of company called Kernin that were allegedly funnelled through Mr Kundra's company called Viaan. They were flagged during investigations, sources had told NDTV.

The police are now searching through statements from Mr Kundra's bank account, as well as transactions made between Viaan and Kernin, the sources said.

Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty's (left) husband Raj Kundra (right) was arrested on Monday by Mumbai Police for 'key conspirator' role in a pornography-related case

NDTV reported that it was told investigators found a money trail led them to an account held with United Bank for Africa belonging to a cricket betting firm called Mercury International, from which funds have been sent to Mr Kundra's Yes Bank account.

According to the Times of India, Mumbai Police told the court: 'Police suspect that money earned from pornography was used for online betting. This is why transactions between Raj Kundra's Yes bank account and United Bank of Africa account need to be investigated.'

It is just the latest scandal to hit Kundra, who was banned from all cricket-related activities in 2015 following claims of match fixing during his time as owner of the Rajasthan Royals alongside wife Shilpa, with whom he has two children.

Shilpa, a hugely successful Bollywood actress in her own right, shot to fame in Britain during the 2007 series of Celebrity Big Brother when she was racially abused by Jade Goody and other contestants.

The actress eventually won the series, and then reconciled with Jade during the British reality star's battle with cervical cancer the following year. 

Back in 2007, Shilpa shot to fame on the fifth series of Celebrity Big Brother and became embroiled in a race row with the late Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd and S Club 7 star Jo O'Meara. 

Back in 2007, Shilpa shot to fame on the fifth series of Celebrity Big Brother (pictured) and became embroiled in a race row with the late Jade Goody

Jade had entered the house with her mother Jackiey Budden and boyfriend Jack Tweed, with Jackiey quickly embroiled in arguments with multiple other housemates including Shilpa - claiming she was 'unable to pronounce' her name.

Jackiey was quickly evicted but friction between Jade and Shilpa continued, before the former made several racially-charged comments including claiming to be unable to pronounce Shilpa's name. 

Jade was evicted shortly afterwards in a match-up against Shilpa, who received 83 per cent of the public vote.

She left the house without an audience due to the public backlash and the number of complaints Ofcom had received about her remarks -  around 45,000.

Shilpa ultimately went on to win the series.

Channel 4 initially tried to downplay the row as 'girly rivalry' and a 'cultural clash', but was forced to issue an apology for 'editorial misjudgments' after an Ofcom ruling.  

The episode sparked a national debate about what is considered racist language, with one newspaper running the headline 'Beauty v Bigot'. 

Shilpa, a famous Bollywood actress in her own right, shot to fame in the UK in 2007 when she won Celebrity Big Brother after being racially abused by Jade Goody and other contestants

Jade initially tried to defend herself against allegations of racism but ultimately conceded that she had been in the wrong, before agreeing to go on Indian reality TV show Bigg Boss as a way of making amends.

But just two days into filming, Jade was diagnosed with cervical cancer and flown home for treatment.

She and Shilpa reconciled during her public cancer battle during which she underwent chemotherapy, and even visited her a few days before her death.

Jade passed away in March 2009.  

Last year, Kundra and wife Shilpa welcomed their second child via surrogate. 

The couple announced their baby joy via Instagram, with Shilpa telling fans that the newborn has 'completed our family'. 

She shared the first picture of her daughter Samisha, who arrived on 15 February, to social media. 

Shilpa and husband Raj married in 2009. The are also parents to son Viaan Raj who was born in May 2012, three years after the couple tied the knot.          

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