Mumbai's EsplanadeCourt on Wednesday rejected the bail pleas of Shilpa Shetty's husband andbusinessman Raj Kundra and Ryan Thorpe in connection with charges related tothe alleged creation of pornographic films.
Kundra was arrested onJuly 19 by the city police's crime branch after being booked under relevantsections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act.
On Tuesday, amagistrate's court here remanded him in judicial custody for 14 days. The Courthas not given any interim relief to the businessman on Wednesday.
As the hearingstarted, the public prosecutor opposed the plea and said that as he is aninfluential person, he can intimidate the witnesses which will derail theprobe. To this, Kundra's lawyer said, "Is Raj Kundra a terrorist?"
Kundra's lawyer alsosaid that the chargesheet was already filed in April and many of the accusedare out on bail. But the prosecution objected and said Kundra is a keyconspirator of the case and rejected the bail plea of both Kundra and hisbusiness associate Ryan Thorpe.
Meanwhile, CrimeBranch has appointed a financial auditor to probe the money trail of Raj Kundraand Shilpa Shetty besides, their alleged involvement in the pornography racketcase.
"In theinvestigation, the Crime Branch has found transactions worth crores were donefrom the joint account of Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra. The Crime Branchsuspects that the earnings from 'Hotshots' and 'Bolly Fame' app used to comeinto this account," said the sources.
They added that thepolice are also probing whether money earned from the apps was being investedin bitcoins.