Bribe was allegedly delivered to Crime Branch officers; anti-corruption cops say they got complaint in March, and sent it in April to Mumbai police, who are still tight-lipped about the development
A wanted accused in a porn production case has alleged that Raj Kundra avoided arrest till now by bribing Crime Branch officers with Rs 25 lakh. The firm of Arvind Srivastava alias Yash Thakur, named as the kingpin of the racket in March, had complained to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) via an email the same month. The ACB forwarded it to the Mumbai police chief’s office in April. The city officers have, however, refused to comment. On Wednesday, crime branch raided Kundra’s Andheri office.
Businessman Kundra was arrested on Monday in the porn racket case by the Property Cell of the Mumbai Crime Branch. The complainant was Fliz Movies [or Nuefliks, as previously known], an US-based firm. Police had named the firm in March and seized two of its owner Srivastava’s bank accounts having about Rs 4.50 crore. These accounts were opened in Kanpur and Indore branches.
The ACB had forwarded the email to the office of Mumbai police commissioner in April for further investigation, said a senior officer. Mumbai police, however, refused to comment on the matter. The email also contained screenshots of WhatsApp chats about the alleged bribe. A copy of the email, sent by the firm’s support team, is in possession of mid-day as well. The WhatsApp screenshots, however, did not mention Kundra anywhere in the chats, said officers.
“The ACB investigates only if there is demand for money and it can lay a trap. Since, in this case, the money had already exchanged hands, as alleged, the complaint was forwarded to the concerned department (Mumbai police) to initiate an action,” a senior-level ACB officer said on condition of anonymity.
‘Firm also told to bribe’
In the email, Nuefliks also claimed that a “demand, through a police informer, to pay an equal amount was also made to the firm”.
The Property Cell of the Mumbai Crime Branch arrested Kundra and others in the case on Monday. Srivastava’s name cropped up again during the interrogation of the arrested accused, said officers. The accused told the police that after making a pornographic film, they would send it to Srivastava, who has also financed some of the films. The films were uploaded on Nuefliks, HotHit and Hotshots apps.
Milind Bharambe, joint commissioner of police (crime), told mid-day, “After Raj Kundra’s name surfaced in the case, the Crime Branch investigated further and gathered strong evidence. Only then he was arrested and named in the chargesheet.” When asked about the status of the complaint about his men taking a bribe from Kundra, Mumbai Commissioner of Police Hemant Nagrale had no appropriate answer. “I don’t like questions and answers sessions. Your choice. You stop or I block,” he responded to this reporter in a text message.
When contacted on Wednesday evening, Mumbai police’s official spokesperson DCP Chaitanya S said he is not aware about the accusations.
Surjitt Sahani
