Mumbai  : A Mumbai court on Tuesday sent businessman Raj Kundra, arrested in a case related to the alleged creation of pornographic films, to police custody till July 23. Kundra, the husband of actor Shilpa Shetty, was arrested by the Mumbai Police late on Monday along with 11 other people. The case involves alleged creation of pornographic films and publishing them through some apps.

The crime branch of the Mumbai Police claimed before the Esplanade Court that Kundra was making financial gains through this illegal business by taking subscription fees from the users of these apps. They also said that there are several WhatsApp chats that revealed Kundra (45) was involved in the financial dealings of the app and its contents.

Kundra has been named as the key conspirator by the police in the case and booked under sections 420 (cheating), 34 (common intention), 292 and 293 (related to obscene and indecent advertisements and displays) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) besides relevant sections of the IT Act and the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act.

The police also claimed that three women have come forward with complaints in the case, saying they were "forced to act in pornographic movies", adding that the accused took advantage of struggling models, actors and other workers.

Kundra's lawyer Aabad Ponda and advocate SubhashJadhav opposed the police's plea for remand and said the investigation into the case can be carried out without custodial interrogation. Ponda argued that the police ought to have issued summons to Kundra first and recorded his statement, instead of arresting him directly in the case that was registered in February this year.