It was a tip off in February this year about a porn movie being shot at a bungalow that led the Mumbai police to businessman Raj Kundra, who was arrested on Monday for allegedly producing and selling porn movies. The raid and probe that followed took the police from the actors of such movies, to producers and Kenrin, the UK company that owns the HotShots app. And finally to Raj Kundra.

Here’s a blow by blow account, as reported by the Indian Express, of how the cover was blown on the porn racket, in which actor Shilpa Shetty’s husband Raj Kundra is the prime accused:

*It all started in June 2020 when the HotShots app, owned by UK-based company Kenrin, was removed from the Apple store. In November 2020, it was removed from Google Store too following complaints that it was streaming pornographic material.

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*In February this year, the case resurfaced after the Mumbai Crime branch received a tip-off that a porn movie was being shot at a bungalow in Madh Island. They raided the bungalow and found two persons filming in intimate scene. apart from the two actors, five persons assisting in the filming process were arrested and a woman was rescued, the report says.

*The rescued woman was later made a complainant. In the probe that followed, Mumbai crime branch found out that these adult movies were a one-day shooting affair at a rented bungalows in and around Mumbai, the reports adds.

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*The shooting involved just five to six people. These apps gaining lakhs of subscribers during the lockdown last year, the police said.

*As investigations progressed, police arrested Rowa Khan, producer of such films, small-time actor Gehna Vasisht among others.

*The crime branch then started targeting platforms to which such films were sold. The name that stood out was that of Umesh Kamat, who worked with UK-based Kenrin Pvt Ltd, a firm that owns the HotShots app, the report added.

*Kenrin is owned by Pradeep Bakshi, brother-in-law of Raj Kundra. In fact, Kundra had sold the company, on paper, to Bakshi but continued to call the shots.

*Based on Kamat’s questioning and going through his call records, the police zeroed in on the Raj Kundra link. Raj Kundra’s name, however, did not figure in the charge sheet that was filed in April.

* After further probe and an analysis of Kamat’s laptop, the police sought the court’s permission to search Kundra’s office. A police team raided the place on Monday and based on “evidence” arrested him on Monday.