Public Prosecutor Tells HC: 51 films seized from Hotshots App, Matter Posted For Monday

MUMBAI: The State Public Prosecutor on Saturday informed the Bombay high court that “51 pornographic films were seized” from two apps by the Mumbai Crime branch, and Raj Kundra and Ryan Thorpe were arrested as they had “started deleting WhatsApp group and chats” and hence “destroying evidence” so the police had no option but to arrest them.

According to a report by the Times of India, the public prosecutor Aruna Pai was opposing Kundra and Thorpe’s separate challenges to their arrest and remand which they said was “illegal” as there was “no compliance” of a section 41A CrPC notice for their explanation, mandated when offence attracts maximum of seven
years’ punishment.

At a hearing via video conferencing before the bench of Justice Ajay Gadkari, Pai said “serious offences of porn streaming content” is what the duo is accused of and police “also seized material from phone and storage device.”

She said there was an “email message from Kundra on his Hotshot app with one Pardeep Bakshi, his brother in law, who owns a company in London…”

Police “found obscene and bold videos” and information on a number of subscribers, payments received.

She said there was an “email message from Kundra on his Hotshot app with one Pardeep Bakshi, his brother in law, who owns a company in London…”

Police “found obscene and bold videos” and information on a number of subscribers, payments received.

She said, “during the course of the investigation we added section 201 (destruction of evidence) Indian Penal Code.’’ She said a 41A notice was served. Kundra refused it and Thorpe accepted it. But instead of cooperating with the investigation they started deleting from WhatsApp group and chats …thereby they started destroying the evidence.

Therefore, police in order to prevent them had no option but to arrest them. Police cannot be mute spectators they had to prevent them and therefore they arrested
them.

Senior counsel Aabad Ponda for Kundra had while arguing earlier submitted that the police had not mentioned any such deleting of chats in their first remand and questioned its non-inclusion if the police are now saying it. He said the police were “trying to make a show of compliance with the section 41A notice.”

The hearing was interrupted due to a technical hitch rendering the prosecutor’s submission not entirely audible to the court. As a result, by consent of all sides, the HC will now hear it on Monday at a physical hearing, the TOI report said.

Source: Times of India