Raj Kundra's connections slip into Kolkata, illegal guesthouses turn hotbeds of crime

Of late, illegal guest houses have mushroomed in the Salt Lake, Rajarhat, New Town, Gopalnagar and Baguihati area of Kolkata, which act as the main spots for porn shootings. The one arrested in the case of New Town, Pratap Ghosh, a professional photographer by profession, used to upload the porn clips shot by him on the porn websites owned by Raj Kundra.

Kolkata:The involvement of Raj Kundra, husband of Bollywood star, Shilpa Shetty, in pornography movie production and direction, has become a new controversy involving the tinsel world. Some West Bengal links in the pornography racket have also surfaced.

During the last couple of days, two consecutive porn rackets were busted from Salt Lake and New Town areas in the northern outskirts of Kolkata. The one arrested in the case of New Town, Pratap Ghosh, a professional photographer by profession, used to upload the porn clips shot by him on the porn websites owned by Raj Kundra. A photograph of Ghosh uploaded on his Facebook wall showed him with renowned fashion director and current BJP legislator, Agnimitra Paul.

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On Thursday two other persons, including a woman, were arrested in this connection. The two arrested people were Nandita Das and Mainak Ghosh, who acted as the coordinators for the porn business. According to police sources, several guesthouses in the area have mushroomed, which are officially hired for business meets or housing guests coming from outside for any assignment in the IT hub of Sector 5 in Salt Lake and New Town. However, often these guest houses are hired for pornography shootings.

It is alleged that the internal and external surveillance and security systems of these illegally mushroomed guesthouses are pathetic. Sleuths of Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate are often receiving complaints that their guest houses are being hired for running sleaze rackets which include even pornography shootings. Several women have also filed complaints in this regard in the Cyber Cell of the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate. The content of all these complaints are the same. Those having the ambition of finding fame in the modelling or acting world are lured by a section of dubious film directors and producers to come to these guest houses for photoshoots.

In the case of Ghosh, the complaint from the victim was that she was misled and invited for a photoshoot for a renowned saree company at a guest house in New Town. After she reached there, she was blackmailed and forced to participate in the 'bold' shooting. Later, those videos were uploaded to certain pornography sites, some of which were owned by Raj Kundra. Police sources said that besides Salt Lake and New Town, such illegal guest houses have mushroomed in the Baguihati and Gopalnagar areas.

Now the question automatically arises on why the porn trade kingpins are mainly targeting these guesthouses under Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate when there are several guest houses in many convenient places in Kolkata itself. A senior officer of Kolkata Police, who did not wish to be named, said that the surveillance systems of the city police on the hotels and guesthouses in Kolkata are much more efficient than what it is existing under Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate.

“Because of this strong surveillance system the raids at these sleazy hotels and guesthouses are more frequent than the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate. So such incidents are lesser known in Kolkata. However, Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate does not have any detailed records of exact number of guesthouses operating in the area. The main problem with Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate is shortage of manpower in comparison to Kolkata Police,” he said.

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At the same time, because of the pandemic and lockdown, several police personnel have been deployed for pandemic-related surveillance duties. “Hence, the surveillance related to guesthouses has been slightly overlooked. So naturally, the guesthouses in this locality have become soft targets for porn shooting rackets,” he said.

On this matter, ETV Bharat contacted the Deputy Commissioner (Headquarter) of Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate, Surya Jadav. However, he was reluctant to speak about this issue. “We have some standard operating procedures, which we always follow,” Yadav said.

An inspector ofthe Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate said that the victims are targeted through fake accounts on social media. “We on behalf of the cybercrime division of Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate have issued several advertisements and statements cautioning people about these fake profiles. But some aspiring models or actresses often ignore our caution and get trapped in the pornography business,” he said.

Are the pornography actresses equally punishable like the director and producers. Criminal lawyer of Supreme Court and Calcutta High Court, Kaushik Gupta said the question is whether the actor acted in such pornography movies voluntarily or they were forced either through pressure or blackmail.

“If anyone is found acting voluntarily, then the actor is punishable under the law like the directors or producers. However, the actor is not punishable if he or she is forced into business. In that case, the gadgets used in shooting become important clues in investigation and establishing the motive,” Gupta said.

Sometimes, financial compulsion also lures young girls and women to get trapped in the pornography racket. Or there is a psychological issue involved with the issue. According to psychiatrist and faculty of Kolkata-based KPC Medical College and Hospital, Dr Trithankar Guha Thakurta, in 2012 the International Journal of Sexual Health, came out with a study with statements from 176 pornography actresses.

“Around 53 per cent of the respondents claimed that they came to flesh trade out of compulsion. However, the remaining 47 per cent claimed that they came voluntarily. If anyone is compelled to act in a pornography movie out by force or blackmail, then it is surely a criminal offence and the offender needs to be punished severely. However, the matter needs deep scientific introspection if the performance is voluntary. Not only in India, but pornography has also taken the shape of almost an organized industry. When a product is manufactured, it is perceived that it has a demand and clientele in the market. So in my opinion, in the case of voluntary participation the matter should not be viewed from the archaic patriarchal viewpoint,” he said.

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