Mumbai: Businessman Raj Kundra, model Sherlyn Chopra, Poonam Pandey and film producer Meeta Jhunjhunwala and cameraman connived with each other shot obscene/porn videos in two five star hotels in the suburbs and circulated the content on various OTT platform for financial consideration, says a chargesheet by Maharashtra Cyber police on Friday.

Police said that Kundra, director of Armsprime Media limited was involved in production and distribution of pornographic videos.

In 2019, the cyber police had registered an offence under section 292 (sale of obscene material) and under Information Technology Act against unknown persons after a Custom and Central excise officer lodged a complaint that some websites were uploading obscene content on the internet.

The police on Friday submitted a 450-page chargesheet against models Sherlyn Chopra, Poonam Pandey, cameraman Raju Dubey, Jhunjhunwala, Banana prime OTT director Suvajit Choudhary, Kundra of Armsprime Media Private Limited and his employee Umesh Kamat.

In the chargesheet, police have named Poonam Pandey, Sherlyn Chopra’s obscene videos were found uploaded/ released on various OTT platforms . Suvajit Choudhary, director of Banana Prime - the OTT platform is accused of producing web series Prem Paglami containing porn content and uploading on his OTT, the chargesheet said.

In the chargesheet, police have stated that Poonam Pandey (39), with help of Kundra's company, developed her own mobile app and got her obscene videos shot in five star hotels in suburbs and got them uploaded and circulated. It states that accused cameraman Raju Dubey shot the videos of Chopra, knowing that it amounts to crime.

Film writer and producer Meeta Jhunjhunawala, business head and celebrity management of Arms Prime, had aided and abetted in directing and scripting stories for Chopra. Similarly, model Poonam Pandey made a business agreement with Armsprime and made her own mobile app ‘The Poonam Pandey’ and uploaded obscene content on the OTT platform.

“Of all these, Armsprime company got financial benefits from all these accused and hence the company has aided and abetted in the crime,” the chargesheet said.

Police are looking for few models who worked in porn films/web series but have gone underground since the case was registered.

Police have also chargesheeted Umesh Kamat who was manager for the London based company-Hotshot, owned by Kundra's brother-in-law Pradeep Bakshi’s company Kenrin, registered in the United Kingdom.

For actor Priya Bapat, the year 2021 has been a real game changer. Bapat, a popular name in the Marathi circuit, got nationwide fame due to the success of her digital series, City Of Dreams. “In January 2021, I had no idea how my work is going to be received by people and where I’m going to be. Now, in December, I’ve been recognized as an actor and that has given me a lot of confidence,” shares the actor, who is currently shooting for her Hindi film debut, Visfot.

Talking about the year that has gone by, Bapat reveals how she felt hopeless in 2020. “By the end of last year (2020), I had lost all hope, I didn’t know where my life would be. There are days when you feel low, disappointed, you question your worth and have self-doubts. I started doubting my decisions. It’s not just your mental health, you also have to run your house. You wonder if you should work for money. But 2021 gave me a lot of hope and positivity. I’m more positive about next year,” she explains.

Bapat adds that her husband, actor Umesh Kamat, keeps her sane: “I have a great husband, who sits with me. When I feel low and feel I’m not earning enough, he takes the charge and responsibility. It’s vice versa when he is feeling low. He takes care of me, emotionally, which is more important than being taken care of financially. If you are emotionally sorted you can sort anything.”

Mumbai: Businessman and actor Shilpa Shetty’s husband Raj Kundra set up Hotshots, an online platform, with the intention of distributing pornographic material, his business partner has said in a confessional statement now part of the supplementary chargesheet submitted by the police.

The Hotshots app was set up by Armsprime Ltd, in which Kundra and Saurabh Kushwaha were directors. Kushwaha, who held 35% stake, said control of the app, including uploading videos was in the hands of Kundra.

Subsequently, Hotshots was sold to UK-based Kenrin Ltd with Kundra resigning from Armsprime’s directorship a day prior to the sale.

The chargesheet says a forensic audit also reveals money laundering of the revenues generated from Hotshots. The funds were diverted using Google and Apple apps to Kenrin’s account in Lloyds Bank in the UK even before the sale by Armsprime.

The revenues generated from the Hotshots app from August 2015 to December 2020 were transferred by Google and Apple Inc to the bank account of Kenrin maintained with Lloyds Bank in the UK instead of Armsprime Indian account. This indicated that the revenues that were earned and accrued on sale of the Hotshots app were diverted and laundered to Kenrin Ltd’s UK bank account during the directorship of Kundra in Armsprime Ltd,” the chargesheet says. Police have also attached the details of the revenues generated from the sale of subscriptions of Hotshots on Apple Inc and Google.

Kushwaha said he was in the dark about the operations as Kundra and the company's tech head, Ryan Thorpe, handled the show. One of the mails retrieved during the forensic auditing cites an email between Kundra and Kushwaha where the former mentions waiving off loans to Armsprime on the condition that ownership of the OTT platforms are transferred to his servers.

The scrutiny of the accounts and audited balance sheet of Armsprime reveals there are outstanding loans for an amount of Rs 17.92 lakh payable to Kundra as on March 31, 2019, said the chargesheet. This establishes Kundra is a director in Armsprime and also instrumental in deciding the sale consideration of the Hotshots app and its mode of payment.

Hotshots was sold to Kenrin in the UK on December 12, 2019. A day prior to the sale, Kundra resigned from the directorship of Armsprime. The chargesheet cites an email between Kundra and Kushwaha on January 6, 2020 which indicates purchase consideration and mode of payment were carried out with their mutual knowledge.

Meanwhile, Shilpa Shetty who is cited as witness no. 39 has stated that she was busy and never inquired with Kundra about his work. Kundra started Viaan Industries Ltd in 2015 which was into making animation, cartoons and apps, she said. Shilpa said that in February when the crime branch busted the pornography case and arrested Umesh Kamat, the PA of Kundra, she asked her husband about it. She said he told her that arrested model Gehana Vashist alias Vandana Tiwari and Kamath have independently shot and uploaded the porn movies.

In February, the property cell of the crime branch raided a bungalow in Madh Island in Malad and busted a porn video film-making racket and rescued a woman. This led to the arrest of Raj Kundra and others.

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Police have shown Raj Kundra’s brother-in-law Pradeep Bakshi and Singapore-based Arvind Kumar alias Yash Thakur as absconding accused in the supplementary chargesheet. They issued lookout notices (LOC) against Bakshi, Thakur and Kundra. On why they have issued an LOC against Kundra when he is already in jail, police said that he was a UK national, and if released, he may fly to London and may not return to face trial.

My original plan was to be an engineer. But things changed after I arrived in Mumbai in June 2010. My family hails from Bhopal, but since my father worked in the coal mines of Chhattisgarh, I went to a school in the hill station of Chirimiri. My mother is a homemaker, and I have two brothers, and one sister. I was a topper in school, and Math and Biology were my strength. I had cracked the PET (Preliminary English Test), and was preparing for the IIT-Jee exam, but when I realised that I needed Rs. 2 lakh to get admission to a college, I knew I had to find a way to make the money.

When I saw an advertisement in the newspaper about a Miss MP contest, I decided to participate. I had imagined they’d ask me to dance a little here and there, but I was expected to do the ramp walk and go through a question-answer round. I told the organizers that I wasn’t fit for this. Back then, I was dowdy, wore mustard oil in my hair, sports shoes and baggy clothes. But they said, they would groom me. And just like that, I won Miss MP.

The fun part of the journey began when I was spotted crossing the road in Bhopal by an ad filmmaker. He asked if I wanted to pose for a Monte Carlo ad, and I told him that he should not make fun of a naive girl. But he was serious. For the first time, then, I walked into a beauty parlour and got myself waxed. I got Rs 500, but my pictures were in every Monte Carlo showroom across Bhopal. That amount was big for me; it got me through a whole month of coaching. Suddenly, people who had never paid attention to me because I was geeky—started inviting me to their parties. I also started getting some pocket money, and money matters, ya! Following this, I must have shot close to 50 ads for showrooms in the city. My face was everywhere. I even acted in an episode of Crime Patrol that came on ETV MP, and began work as an anchor for Sahara MP. I made Rs 1,500 a day.

Then, in 2010, I arrived in Mumbai to seek admission to Borivli’s St Francis Institute of Technology. I wanted to train to be a teacher. One day, I happened to meet Masud Mirza, who was one of the writers of Madhur Bhandarkar’s film Chandni Bar. Since he was from Bhilai, we got along. He was making a movie called Zara Sambhal Ke, and he asked me to audition for it. I was happy. It was as if I was getting everything without struggling for it. The movie was about the prostitutes of Nanded, and the role involved abusive language. In MP, using ‘tu’ is also considered rude, so I turned his offer down. I decided to once again focus on my engineering plans, and had even got a placement at Tata Consultancy Services. Then I met producer Sajan Agarwal. I frequented the office of Rashmi Sharma Telefilms, the production house behind hit shows like Saath Nibhaana Saathiya. Rashmi di’s husband Pawan, told me I should change my name. So, I consulted numerologist Sanjay Jumani, and landed the name Gehana Vasisth. I started my career with a show called Behenein on Star Plus.

This was a strange time for me—I had never worn jeans, and here I was in a bikini. I travelled to Hong Kong to participate in the Miss Bikini show, and gradually began to land films in the south. I have acted in over 30 Telugu and Tamil films. I even anchored a spot for the 2015 World Cup. I’ve also acted in shows for Amazon Prime, Zee5, and Ullu. I owed my father Rs. 2.30 lakh as an education loan, and I only had Rs 1.08 lakh with me. I remember walking on Naigoan station, when my father called me and asked what I was up to in Mumbai. I asked him to give me some time, as I was sure they would not support the idea of my acting. They eventually found out when a neighbour saw me on TV, and he wanted me to return right away. But my acting gigs gradually got me noticed among acquaintances in Bhopal. I was a celebrity and people started coming to our home out of curiosity and respect. Then, he realised, I had become someone.

It was in 2019, that I first met Raj Kundra. His personal assistant who I called Meeta Di, called me for a meeting. I knew that Kundra’s company Armsprime used to make apps for actors like Poonam Pandey and Sherlyn Chopra. I knew it was bold content exclusively for subscribers, so I told Meeta, I wasn’t interested. They wanted to block me for just two days, and all I had to do was get my hair and make up artist along. They’d do the rest. The profit sharing plan was 50:50. She insisted I come and have a cup of coffee at the office, if nothing else. I landed up in Andheri, where I met Kundra for the first time. I asked him why he made content of this kind, and he was candid enough to say that no one was being forced to do it. It depends on the artiste and what they wish to do with their career. I left after the coffee. Later, I checked the app and realised that most of the content was made up of tease videos. There was no full nudity. So, I thought, why not.

The money was good. I got my brothers through engineering, and managed to make arrangements for my sister’s wedding. I was not ambitious—I knew I wasn’t going to be the next Aishwarya Rai. For me, getting married, having kids and quitting my job was not an option. Kundra’s company was offering me Rs. 2 lakh for two days of work.

I signed the contract, and we went to Manisha Bungalow in Madh Island, to shoot a series of pictures and videos. There were backless shots, and I wore silicone cups throughout. There was some mild humping [expected of me], and smooching. I was happy with the fact there was now a Gehana Vasisth app. I carried on with this work till February 2020, when it dawned on me that I was on the wrong track. Why was I stripping! I let them know that I didn’t wish to continue. Meanwhile, I got a call from a producer I knew from long ago called Sajan Agarwal, who wanted me to act in a movie for HotShots, which to my knowledge was run by Umesh Kamath. I turned him down since I knew that once again it was going to be about shooting bold content. But then, another director who was a friend, got in touch, and said, do it, it’s all legitimate. I was offered Rs 25,000 per day. At the shoot, when the other actress removed her top, I froze. I had never seen a woman naked before.

I acted in three such movies, after which they asked me to also direct and produce. They would give me Rs. 3 lakh, and an approved script and actors, who Kamath would approve. I had to deliver the 30-minute film. After paying everyone, I realised I was left with only Rs 30,000, but I was happy about the fact that I was now a director-producer.

On February 4 this year, I was getting ready to leave for a launch party for one of my movies, when 14 Crime Branch officials showed up at my residence. They said I couldn’t leave the house, and began looking through data on my phones and laptop. They destroyed my house; jewellery worth Rs 12 lakh is still missing. They didn’t give me any information about what they wanted, but repeatedly said that while we had made crores, the actors had got a pittance. Three of the officials stayed at the residence through the night and the female cop kept suggesting I pay up if I wished to be free. They found copies of legal agreements concerning the films at my home.

I told them everything I knew; I had nothing to hide. I told them they can find the hard drives at the editor’s home, and gave them names of everyone who would be present on the set. I was told that if I named Kundra, I would be named a victim and set free. But I said I didn’t even work for Kundra, I worked for Kamath.

On February 6, they asked me to sign a piece of paper, which was written in Marathi. I didn’t know what I was signing. They booked me under Section 420 among others. I was held in Byculla Jail. On February 17, they took me to Malvani police station, where they said a girl had accused me of gang rape. Someone who had acted in my movie, said that she had been raped by those on set while I had watched. When I confronted her, she admitted to me that it was not the truth. How could it be, when I had messages from her about having a wonderful time on set. I was in jail till June 19, and I even contracted COVID during my time there.

I was released on bail. But on July 19, they arrested Raj Kundra. They have now levelled fresh allegations against me. I have to say this, no one gets raped or forced in Bollywood. These are regular artistes who work for different producers.

I would like the cops to come clean and make public my phone messages. They will see that everyone who had made allegations against me, has chatted with me on text, and said wonderful things. I still stand by Kundra. This was not pornography, and it was never forced.

Actor and director Vandana Tiwari, alias Gehana Vasisth, was arrested by the Mumbai Crime Branch on February 6 this year after her role surfaced in an alleged pornography racket. She has been named in two FIRs registered at Malvani police station—in one FIR, she is named as accused in a gang rape.

The Crime Branch filed a chargesheet which names Vasisth and eight other accused, this April. According to it, the Crime Branch received a tip off on February 3 about porn films being shot in a Madh Island bungalow. Raids were conducted and on February 4, five people were arrested from the location—the woman who was acting in the alleged porn film said that she was forced into the business. The five arrested from location included Rowa Khan alias Yasmeen Khaan (producer and director), Monu Sharma (photographer), Bhanu Thakur (actor), Arish Shaikh (actor) and Pratibha Nalawade (creative director).

According to Crime Branch officials, during the interrogation of the accused, especially Khan, Vasisth’s name surfaced. She was called for questioning and later arrested on February 6. During the searches, the officials found scripts and agreements pertaining allegedly to pornographic content creation. The charge sheet said that Vasisth used to upload obscene videos on escapenow.tv, and that she was in touch with a person named Umesh Kamath and had been sharing porn films files with him.

The officials learnt that Kamath was working for Kenrin Limited company in England, and sent porn films to the company, for uploading on their HotShot app which Raj Kundra’s firm allegedly had a tie up with. The investigating team said it also found some agreements involving the firm with Vasisth. The Crime Branch arrested Kundra on July 19. On August 12, Abhijeet Bamble, a director in one of Kundra’a companies was arrested in connection with the pornography case.

“Gehana was directly in touch with Kamath. She was getting monetary benefits and she is the one who used to convince victims to shoot the obscene scenes. Later, they were forced to act in pornographic films, and were threatened,” a senior officer of the Crime Branch said.

On June 19, the Dindoshi Court granted her bail after four months. In another FIR filed against Vashisth, she has been accused of coercing other actors to perform obscene scenes. The sessions court on August 12 rejected the anticipatory bail plea filed by her fearing arrest.

According to Crime Branch officials, most of the porn films in question depicted penetration, and were uploaded on an app called HOTHIT. The app was owned by Rowa Khan and her husband Dipankar Paritosh Khasanvis alias Shaan, who was also arrested. The officers say they have seized porn scripts from the set in the Madh Bungalow. Khan used to direct and produce the films which were uploaded on her app. Apart from HOTHIT, some videos were also given to Kamath who then shared it with the London-based company. These were also uploaded on the HotShots app.

“She has made crores. The victims have also said that they were forced to sign agreements to act in OTT films, but later, forced into shooting porn,” an officer said.

Inputs by Faizan Khan

Mumbai: A sessions court on Monday adjourned hearing in the anticipatory bail plea moved by businessman Raj Kundra in an obscenity case being investigated by the cyber crime police. The court extended the interim relief from arrest in the case.

In November 2020, police had registered an FIR against 14 OTT platforms and web portals for obscene content based on a complaint by a retired customs official. Summons were sent to the heads of these platforms and portals, besides some actors in the videos.

Kundra is currently in custody in a case being investigated by the crime branch. Kundra’s name surfaced after the property cell, which was probing the case, discovered the involvement of a UK production company, Kenrin, and police arrested its executive, Umesh Kamat.

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Mumbai: The city crime branch probing Raj Kundra for production of porn films summoned actor Sherlyn Chopra to record her statement as a witness in the case. In March, Chopra had lodged a complaint involving obscene videos of her being published online. The police on Monday clarified that as of now they have not found anything against Kundra’s wife Shilpa Shetty.

The property cell on Monday recorded the statement of model-actress Sagarika Shona Suman who has alleged Kundra’s company wanted to rope in some reality show contestants for live streaming strip shows. She also told police Tanvir Hashmi, who claims to be the video editor in the porn movie racket, was earlier arrested in a gang rape case.

Actress Flora Saini’s name was mentioned by a Hindi news channel on Saturday along with a WhatsApp chat record they splashed on screen between Raj Kundra and Umesh Kamat in the ongoing porn racket case. In the chat, the two are seen discussing if they could rope in Flora for a song in a film on ‘Bollyfame’ (another app that Kundra and his associates were reportedly planning to launch) and even for a probable role. Flora released a video soon after the channel aired their story and clarified that she had no involvement with the two whatsoever and they discussing probable casting for their upcoming projects had nothing to do with her. Her name being dragged into a controversy without any confirmation compelled her to release a video to speak about the same.

In a chat with Bombay Times on Sunday, Flora set the record straight. She revealed, “I have never interacted with Raj Kundra. This is why I spoke up. Had I kept quiet, people would have assumed I had something to hide. If two people discuss my name in a chat that doesn’t mean I am aware or involved with what was being discussed. I am sure other names were also mentioned, perhaps of actresses who have done bold scenes. But since I am not from a film family, it’s considered okay to drag my name without even checking with me. Do these people understand the gravity of dragging a woman’s name in a porn scandal?”

She added, “I have done one web series called Gandii Baat that was risqué or bold per se. People conveniently forget my other work like Stree, Begum Jaan and Laxmii. So dragging me into this controversy has nothing to do with my screen image.”

Asked if she was approached by Kundra directly or his company, and she said, “Yes, casting waale aapko kabhi kabhi phone karte hai. It is they who will call you and say, aisi web series ban rahi hai for HotShots app, would you be interested? And I said no to that as well. I don’t work for new platforms as they make a certain kind of content and often budgets are low. I am not desperate for work. I have worked in South film industry for long enough. I did Gandii Baat because that was a challenge for me. I was a fat kid, so this was pushing the envelope for me. I have not done any bold series after that. Every actor has pushed their limits. To say, yeh ladki aise hi kaam karti hai, yeh bolna galat hai. The case deals with porn and by dragging my name into it, you are insinuating that I could be involved in it. This is a violation of my rights. Because I am not from a film family, they thought it was fine to drag my name in this. I don’t want publicity of this kind!”

Model-actress Sagarika Shona Suman has been vocal about the ongoing pornography racket case involving Raj Kundra. In the past few days, the model and actress claimed that Raj Kundra's former PA Umesh Kamat contacted her with an offer for a web show. “He told me I have to audition online, and I was ready for it because during the lockdown all auditions were happening online. When the audition started, he demanded I take my clothes off and that is when I refused to go ahead,” she said.

Sagarika said that there were three people on the other side of the call and one of them was probably Raj Kundra. “I am not sure if he was Raj, his face was covered with a mask, however, the figure and the body structure did look like him. It was Umesh Kamat who asked me to strip and pose nude on the video call.”

Though she didn’t take any action at the time when she was approached, the current stream of events has only encouraged Sagarika to step ahead. “I am already discussing with my lawyers what should be done,” she says. While she is happy about the crackdown and the action against Umesh Kamat and Raj Kundra, she feels that one needs to dig deeper to reach the root. “There are many more people who are making porn films. There are nearly 30 others who are not just victims, but they are a part of the Kundra-led porn racket. These actors are actively promoting and shooting porn and then sharing uncut clips on their Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts, which in turn drive huge traffic to apps like HotShots and HotHits. These people should also be arrested, and their roles probed by the police.”

Mumbai: A day after arresting businessman Raj Kundra for his alleged role in production of porn films, the crime branch raided his house and recovered the server. Police have stumbled upon WhatsApp chats between Kundra and his associates discussing an alternative plan after Google Play took down ‘Hotshots,’ the OTT app.

The crime branch has also recovered 70 videos shot by Kundra’s former PA Umesh Kamat with the help of different production houses. Police said Kundra was not revealing much during questioning.

Police will send the server for forensic analysis to know if Kundra had used it to upload pornographic material to his UK-based shell company Kinrin. Police have also written to various banks to provide details of Kundra’s and his company’s bank accounts for the last two years. Police said Kundra has been running the porn business for the last two years.

Kundra was arrested along with his company Viaan Industries’ IT head Ryan Thorpe (43) on Monday evening and on Tuesday, he was remanded to police custody till July 23.

On Monday, police had carried out searches of his Viaan Industries office at Lotus Grandeur as well as JL Stream at Veera Desai Road in Andheri. They had recovered documents like agreements between him and his brother-in- law Pradeep Bakshi, who is proprietor of the UK-based company Kinrin. They also found exchange of emails, WhatsApp chats discussing payment received from subscription of porn clips uploaded on Kinrin apps and other porngraphic material.

Police said the WhatsApp chats between Kundra and Bakshi indicate Kundra was aware he was violating the law as the ‘Hotshots’ app had been taken down by Google Play store in November 2020 and by Apple in June 2020 as the content went against their policies. In one chat, Bakshi said Play store had suspended ‘Hotshots’, to which Kundra replied, “That’s fine, plan B started, max in 2-3 weeks new app will be live on iOS and Android, it’s a blessing.” In another WhatsApp group chat, a digital marketing professional identified as Rob told Kundra, “Until then we can deactivate all the bold films and appeal again on the play store.”

In a WhatsApp chat with another arrested accused, ex-PA Umesh Kamat, Kundra shared the link of a TOI report that said cyber police were likely to summon heads of OTT platforms over airing of porn content. Kamat told Kundra, “Thank god you planned BF (Bollyfame)” and Kundra responded, “Till BF is up, let’s find out a way to sustain HS (HOTSHOTS). Let’s remove extreme bold for the time being.”

Gehana Vasisth at Quilla court in Fort on Wednesday. Pics/Suresh Karkera

Mumbai: A celebrity businessman, husband of a well-known actor, is under the scanner in the porn video racket being probed by city police after a model alleged he forced her to pose in the nude for a video shot by his production house, reports S Ahmed Ali. Police are trying to verify the details.

Meanwhile, police have registered a fresh case of gangrape and wrongful confinement against arrested model-actor Gehena Vasisth and three others after a 24-year old model alleged she was forced to engage in sexual acts with three men for a video. This is the fourth such complaint lodged by models in the case. Vasisth, 3 men booked for ‘rape’ in porn racket case

In the complaint against the actor’s husband, the crime branch is in the process of verifying the details. “We are still recording the complaint and are in the process of verifying the authenticity of the model’s complaint before registering a case,” said a senior official.

On Tuesday, police had arrested Umesh Kamat, a former employee of the celebrity businessman.

Kamat, who represents UK-based production house Kenrin, is accused of uploading at least seven to eight “porn and obscene” videos shot by Vasisth on a social media app for monetary consideration.

In the fresh FIR against Vasisth, another model alleged on January 11 she was offered a role in a web series. She said the script did not mention the role required her to act out a sex scene with three men. She told the police she was kept in the dark till the last moment and forced to indulge in sexual acts with the three men in Green Park bungalow at Madh Island.

“Based on her complaint, we have registered an offence and have booked Vasisth and three unidentified men for outraging the modesty of a woman, rape and an obscene act. Further investigation is on,” said a Malvani police officer.

The investigation has so far revealed that one of the accused, Yasmin Rowa Khan, and her team would allegedly shoot porn movies in the Madh Island bungalow and these would be uploaded on various mobile apps as well Vasisth’s website GV Studios.

The case came to light after the crime branch raided a Madh Island bungalow last week and caught five persons, including Khan, “red-handed” while shooting a porn movie.

The Property Cell of the Mumbai Crime Branch on Monday arrested the coordinator of actor-model Gehana Vasisth in connection with the pornographic racket busted last week. According to the Crime Branch he would allegedly send porn videos to companies abroad through WeTransfer to upload them using foreign IP addresses. They would then be uploaded on the app called hotshot.

Umesh Kamat, 40, worked with Vasisth for the past two years. The officials have found 15 porn films of half an hour duration each that were sent to a company abroad by Kamat using WeTransfer. 

“He has been arrested and the court has remanded him in custody till February 10 for further investigation,” said Kedari Pawar, senior PI of the Property Cell.

According to the Cell, Vasisth used to earn Rs. 2.5 lakh to Rs. 3 lakh by sending these videos and the girls who worked in them were paid Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 20,000. All 15 videos which cops have found on WeTransfer files have different girls allegedly forced to shoot on the pretext of working for films and web series.

“So far four victims have come forward and lodged their complaints and two have recorded their statements,” said an officer. The officials have also found multiple emails shared with the foreign-based companies having WeTransfer files.

As some of them have expired they are not able to find what was in the files. Only 15 files have been recovered and cops are investigating the matter further. The Property Cell has so far arrested seven accused in the pornographic racket.

The Property Cell is investigating the role of a celebrity businessman who was allegedly financing the racket. The investigation has also revealed that Kamat has worked with the celebrity businessman and he has uploaded some of those porn films sitting in his office.  He has also allegedly worked as the MD of a company with the businessman. However, the Crime Branch has not found any paper records that he was officially working with him.  “We are examining all possible angles including finances to the entire pornographic racket,” an official said. A professional photographer identified as Shah Dhanaji, 36, was also arrested by the Property Cell late on Monday night.