Raj Kundra Pornography Case: Mumbai Crime Branch forms SIT to probe pornography case

The Crime Branch of Mumbai Police has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the pornography case in which businessman and husband of Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty Raj Kundra is a prime accused, informed Mumbai Police on Friday. An officer of the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) rank will lead the SIT team in the case. The newly formed SIT will investigate all the cases registered separately in the pornography case. The team will report to the top officers of the Crime Branch.

Kundra was arrested by police on July 19 along with 11 other people on charges related to the alleged creation of pornographic films. The Bombay High Court on Saturday dismissed applications filed by the businessman Raj Kundra and Ryan Thorpe challenging Magistrate Court’s remand order and seeking immediate release in connection with the pornography case.

Earlier on August 5, the metropolitan magistrate court rejected the bail pleas of Raj Kundra and his associate Ryan Thorpe in the pornography case. While rejecting the contentions made by Kundra and Thorpe, and dismissing their pleas, the high court said, “The remand to custody by the metropolitan magistrate is within conformity of law and does not require any interference.”

Kundra, husband of actor Shilpa Shetty, and Thorpe, in their petitions, had termed their arrest as illegal, saying that the mandatory provision of issuing a notice under section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) had not been followed. They had urged the high court to order for their immediate release and quash two orders passed by the magistrate’s court remanding them to custody.

As per section 41A of the CrPC, the police may, in cases where arrest is not warranted, initially only issue summons to an accused person and record his or her statement. The police had claimed that such a notice had been served, but Kundra had refused to accept it.

(With agency input)