Aday after the sensational arrest of businessman Raj Kundra -- the husband ofBollywood actress Shilpa Shetty -- the Mumbai Police has nabbed a techie inconnection with the alleged pornographic racket being probed by the CrimeBranch-CID, official sources said here on Tuesday.
Thepolice have arrested Ryan John Tharpe, entrusted with the technical aspects ofKundra-Shetty's companies, from Nerul in Navi Mumbai, for his alleged role andinvolvement in the same scam.
Theduo was produced before a Mumbai magistrate and have been remanded to policecustody till July 23.
Withthis the total number of arrests in the case has shot up to around 12, tilldate and several more suspects are still on the police radar.
Tharpeis an IT person, said to be closely involved with Kundra and Shetty's companieswhich are now being probed for the pornographic racket having possibleinternational ramifications.
Officialsources reveal that the investigators have recovered certain incriminatingmaterials, WhatsApp chats and other stuff, while the role of other known andunknown persons in the entire racket is also being investigated.
Kundra,46, was nabbed late on Monday on alleged charges of making and publishingpornographic content and publishing them through mobile applications.
PoliceCommissioner Hemant Nagrale himself made the announcement on Kundra's arrestbased on a case registered in February.
SinceFebruary, Kundra -- a British-Indian businessman -- was under the scrutiny ofthe Crime Branch-CID before the police's dramatic move last night.
Thesudden arrest stunned Bollywood which is already reeling under the scanner ofvarious narcotics agencies since the past one year, further soiling theindustry's image.
"Acase was registered with the Crime Branch about the creation of pornographicfilms and publishing them through some apps. We've arrested Raj Kundra in thiscase as he appears to be the key conspirator," said Nagrale.
"Wehave sufficient evidence regarding this. Further investigation is inprogress," the police chief added.