In an old video from the Kapil Sharma Show, a curious host is seen asking his guest on the show, Raj Kundra (Shilpa Shetty's businessman husband) "Bina kuch kiye, paise kaise kamate ko?" (how do you make money without doing anything?) The show also had Shilpa and Shamita Shetty accompanying Kundra as guests.
In the same video clip, which has now gone viral after the arrest of Kundra by the Mumbai Police in connection with alleged making and publishing of pornographic films, Kapil is seen questioning Kundra how the latter gets the time for work when he is seen tottering around in Bollywood parties, football matches and outside restaurants.
In a way, that interview fits in perfectly in the circumstances in which Kundra now finds himself. On the night of July 19, he was arrested by Mumbai Police after being booked under relevant sections of the IPC and the Information Technology Act. Since then, although Kundra himself remains silent on the issue, Mumbai Police commissioner has clarified that they have found solid evidence against Kundra and that the case stands "confirmed."
A day after his arrest, on July 20, the Mumbai Police arrested his aide Ryan Thorpe in a snowballing scandal involving the production and streaming of porn films. Both Kundra and Tharp have been sent to police custody till July 23. The police have also seized evidence regarding a WhatsApp group allegedly created by Kundra specifically regarding payments for a porn film.
Kundra isn't new to controversies, scams and wrongdoings, and this is definitely not his first brush with the law. In the past, he had appeared before different authorities over his investments in the IPL team Rajasthan Royals, some members of which were embroiled in the spot-fixing scandal. Again in 2018, he was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate and had appeared in the ED office in Mumbai where he was reportedly grilled for several hours by the investigators in connection with his alleged involvement in the Bitcoin scam. Earlier too, in 2013, the IPL spot-fixing case brought many players, including those from Shilpa Shetty and Kundra-owned Rajasthan Royals, under the scanner. The case went to the Supreme Court and Kundra, along with ICC chief N. Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, were banned from indulging in any cricket related events for life and his team was suspended from playing in the IPL for the next two years.
In October 2019, Kundra was again questioned by the Enforcement Directorate regarding his business dealings with a man named Ranjeet Bindra, who was allegedly a frontman of the underworld don Dawood Ibrahim's aide Iqbal Mirchi. As per media reports at the time, Kundra was engaged in spot-fixing on the commands of Dawood Ibrahim's allies.
In February of 2020, actor-model Poonam pandey filed a case against Kundra when the latter allegedly illegally used her content from her mobile app despite the termination of contract between the two of them. Pandey had entered into a contract with Armsprime Media owned by Raj Kundra, the firm that took care of the adult app owned by Pandey. However, when the contract between Kundra and Pandey ended eight months ago, he allegedly began using the content from her app indiscriminately and without her permission. Pandey then filed a petition in Bombay High Court against Armsprime Media. The firm is in the business of developing apps for Indian models. The company developed an app which had photographs and videos of models, and information of Kundra's interactions with the company in relation to 'Hotshot Accounts' has gone viral on social media. He is seen asking for the accounts of "work" done and also seen saying that the "revenue from films has gone down."
Poonam Pandey and Sherlyn Chopra, who have worked in the adult film industry, blamed Kundra for their entry into the adult film industry. As per investigations, it has come to be reported that Sherlyn was paid Rs 30 lakh for each project and so far she has worked in 20 adult films/projects for Kundra.
"At this moment my heart goes out to Shilpa Shetty and her kids as I can't imagine what she must be going through. I will not use this opportunity to highlight my trauma but I would add that I had filed a police complaint in 2019 against Raj Kundra and subsequently registered a case at the Bombay High Court against him for fraud and theft. This matter is sub judice that's why I will limit my statements, but I have full faith in the police and the judicial process," said Pandey in a video which she tweeted after Kundra was arrested.
