Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty accused her husband of destroying her reputation in a furious row during a police raid over his alleged connections to illegal porn films, it emerged today.
Shetty, 46, had a 'showdown' with husband Raj Kundra that only ended when police intervened, the Hindustan Times reported.
She burst into tears in the heated exchange with Mr Kundra, telling him the case had led to financial losses because sponsors no longer wanted to be associated with her.
Mr Kundra, 45, was arrested on July 19 in Mumbai by police who said they have 'sufficient evidence' that he is a 'key conspirator' in a porn production ring. He has denied the allegations.
Publishing or transmitting 'obscene' material including porn is illegal in India under a 2015 law and punishable by up to seven years in jail.
Police seized 48 terabytes of 'mostly adult' images and videos during the raid, the Times of India reported.
Mr Kundra attempted to cover his tracks by changing his phone to prevent data from the device being found by police after nine people were arrested in the case in March, ANI reported.
He told investigators he threw away the old device, but police believe the phone contains valuable pieces of evidence and are hoping to recover it.
Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty has accused her husband (pictured together at the International Indian Film Academy Awards in Toronto in 2011) of destroying her reputation during a police raid over his alleged connections to illegal porn films
Mr Kundra, 45, was arrested on July 19 in Mumbai by police who said they have 'sufficient evidence' that he is a 'key conspirator' in a porn production ring. He returned to Mumbai High Court for a bail hearing on Tuesday
Police have also seized Mr Kundra and Ms Shetty's financial records, including details of transactions from a joint account. They are investigating whether money from the adult content was invested in Bitcoin, the Times of India reported.
Mr Kundra returned to Mumbai High Court today for a bail hearing and police are hoping to extend his detention.
Ms Shetty was questioned by police on Friday. She told them she believed Mr Kundra was innocent and claimed his brother-in-law Pradeep Bakshi was the one involved with mobile app 'HotShots', which allegedly streamed pornographic content, the Economic Times reported.
She said she was 'unaware of the exact nature of the content' on the app, but described it as 'erotica' rather than pornography.
Officers are seeking to clone Ms Shetty's phone and may also bring her in for a second round of questioning.
Police seized 48 terabytes of adult images and videos in a raid on Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty's home on Friday as part of a probe into her husband's alleged connections to illegal porn films
Police are seeking to clone Ms Shetty's phone and may also bring her in for a second round of questioning in the case against her husband Raj Kundra, 45, who was arrested on July 19 on allegations he is a 'key conspirator' in a porn production ring
Four of Mr Kundra's employees have become witnesses in the case after telling police they were asked to delete clips from Hotspots.
The app was eventually removed from the Google Play Store and Apple Store, but they told police Mr Kundra launched 'plan B' - a second app called Bollyfame.
Mr Kundra is accused of luring women into making a porn film, using the promise of getting them an acting job.
Once the woman agreed to the 'acting job' producers would change the script and force them to perform sex acts, police told the Times.
If they refused, they were told they had to pay for the shoot, often held in a rented house on the outskirts of Mumbai.
The clips were then sent via WeTransfer to the UK, where they were released on paid mobile apps.
Alleged director Tanveer Hashmi, who has denied ever meeting Mr Kundra, described the clips as 'soft porn... short films of 20-25 minutes, which had nudity'.
Mr Hashmi added: 'I cannot judge anybody and only the law will decide.
'I cannot comment on it but the only thing is there are several platforms that are making bold content and they are not questioned.'
An investigation was launched on February 3 after a woman complained to the police about being forced to do the movie under the false pretences, according to the Press Trust of India.
Nine other people, including an actor, producer and an executive, were arrested in the probe in March.
Police are now investigating whether Ms Shetty benefitted from her husband's alleged links to the pornographic film business as part of her position as director of his firm, Viaan.
She resigned from the company after the allegations came to light but police are probing if money generated from adult content ended up in her accounts.
The 2007 Celebrity Big Brother star reportedly wept during questioning, complaining to police her reputation had been destroyed by the allegations.
Raj Kundra, 45, pictured arriving at Mumbai's Esplanade Court, also known as Killa Court, on Tuesday. It is alleged that Kundra lured a woman into making a porn
