Shilpa Shetty on Monday took to Twitter to release a statement after her husband and businessman Raj Kundra was arrested by the Mumbai Police in an alleged case of production and distribution of pornographic content. The actress requested privacy and asked everyone not to pass judgments. Speaking about the recent events and reacting to online abuse and trolling, Shilpa said she’d refrain from making any comment as the matter is subjudice. She also slammed the ‘media trail’ saying she and her family have been law-abiding citizens.
“As a family, we are taking recourse to all our available legal remedies. But, till then I humbly request you – especially as a Mother – to respect our privacy for my children’s sake and request you to refrain from commenting on half-baked information without verifying the veracity of the same,” the Bollywood actor wrote.
She said she will continue to refrain from doing commenting on the case as it is subjudice, “so please stop attributing false quotes on my behalf.” “People have put their faith in me and I’ve never let anyone down. So, most importantly, I request you to respect my family’s and ‘my right’ to privacy in these times,” she said.
In the post, Shetty called herself a “proud law-abiding Indian citizen” and a hardworking professional for the last 29 years. “We don’t deserve a media trial. Please let the law take its course. Satyamev Jayate,” Shetty said.
Kundra, 45, was arrested by the crime branch on July 19 for his alleged involvement in making pornographic films and publishing them through mobile applications. The businessman, called the key conspirator by the police, was denied bail last week by a city court after the prosecution contended the police investigation was still on and his release at this juncture will derail the probe.
The Mumbai Police have claimed they found during their probe that Kundra set up Armsprime Media Pvt Ltd, which through London-based Kenrin Pvt Ltd, bought the Hotshots app to upload objectionable videos on social media.
Kundra has been accused of earning over ₹1.17 crore between August and December last year by uploading pornographic content online through Hotshots. The police also claimed to have found 51 obscene videos – 35 with Hotshots logo and 16 with BollyFame logo, during searches at the office of the accused.
Kundra has said in his plea in the Bombay High Court challenging his arrest that the material which the police claimed to be pornographic did not depict explicit sexual acts but shows material in the form of short movies “which are lascivious or appeal to the prurient interest of persons at best”.
