Raj Kundra: The Controversy Man

Businessman and actor Shilpa Shetty’s husband, Raj Kundra is no stranger to controversy. On Monday, Kundra was arrested by Mumbai Police in relation to a porn film production case. 

When actress Shilpa Shetty was getting married to Kundra, the entire Bollywood was abuzz with speculation over Kundra's identity. At the time he was introduced as a British-Indian businessman. But in spite of being one of the richest businessmen in the world, not much was actually known about his whereabouts. Nevertheless, Kundra seems to have been shrouded in controversy ever since, the latest being allegations of his involvement in a porn film production case.

Here's a look at some of the most viral controversies that dogged Kundra in recent years.

THE PORN CONTROVERSY

The property cell of the Mumbai Crime Branch arrested Raj Kundra on Monday in connection with the case of a pornography racket busted by Mumbai police in February. The 45-year-old, Kundra was arrested on grounds of creating pornography films and publishing in through some app. According to agencies, the Mumbai police mentioned that he is the key conspirator behind this racket.

IPL CONTROVERSY

Earlier, Kundra was involved in the IPL betting and spot-fixing controversy. For the IPL controversy, Kundra was banned for life from cricket activities. He along with ICC chief N Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan was involved in betting in the IPL matches. S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandela and Ankit Chavan were arrested for match-fixing by the Delhi police. During the investigation, Rajasthan Royal owner Raj Kundra did confess about betting through bookie, but not fixing it. After the incident, Kundra along with Gurunath Meiyappan were suspended from participating in any kind of events related to cricket. However, in 2013 Kundra got a clean chit after he filed an application under Right To Information with Delhi police who in their reply said there is no evidence of betting charges against him. 

INVOLVEMENT WITH DAWOOD IBRAHIM

In 2019 Kundra was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate on his involvement in a business case dealing with Ranjeet Bindra who was involved in being a front man for Dawood Ibrahim’s aide Iqbal Mirchi. The ED after going through the details of the real estate firm RKW Developers Private Limited had found out transactions with Essential Hospitality Limited where actress Shilpa Shetty was one of the directors. According to reports, RKW Developers Private Limited invested Rs 44.11 crore in Essential Hospitality and provided an interest-free loan of Rs 31.54 crore. Over Rs 30.45 crore of the loan was granted to Essential Hospitality.

CONTROVERSIAL PERSONAL LIFE

Coming from a humble background, not many know how Kundra hit the jackpot and became a successful businessman.  He was ranked as the 198th richest British Asian by Success magazine in 2004. With links to betting, bitcoin and now pornography, Kundra is one man who has always been in news for all things wrong.  

His personal life has been no less controversial. He was married to Kavita Kundra in 2005 before divorcing her in 2007. He then married Shilpa Shetty in 2009. Following the wedding, many called Shetty a home breaker. Later Kundra reportedly told Pinkvilla that the reason for his divorce was his ex-wife, Kavita, as she was having an affair with his sister’s husband. 

The obvious question that comes to the mind is - will Shilpa Shetty too land in trouble because of her husband’s misdeeds? Shetty is making a comeback after 14 years and has also signed two big-budget films recently. Many have already started trolling her on Twitter. But Shetty has not reacted to the Twitter comments. 

As per reports, Kundra will be in police custody till Friday

(With added inputs from agencies)