Arnala porn racket: Obscene videos of six aspiring actresses were uploaded on porn app, reveals chargesheet

Six aspiring actresses testified against a pornography app maker who uploaded their audition videos on a porn app, leading to the arrests of several accomplices.

Mumbai: Six aspiring actresses testified against the maker of a pornography app and his accomplices, claiming that they were made to shoot obscene videos as part of an audition for a web series but their videos were uploaded on the porn app named Kotha which was subscribed by more than 500 persons. This was revealed after a 1,510-page chargesheet was filed by the Crime Branch of Nalasopara police on Friday after one of the aspiring actresses filed a complaint against the porn app for cheating them in the name of auditions and posting their videos on the porn app.

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The chargesheet included statements of six victims and also includes samples of the obscene videos of the women and the statements of the accused along with the screenshots of the porn app. The police have mainly named the girls as witnesses in the case.

The case came to light in December 2023, when an 18-year-old aspiring actress told the police that three people, including a woman make-up artist called her to a bungalow in Arnala in Virar and asked her to audition for a web series. She was asked to give several takes in compromising positions along with her boyfriend. She was then asked to leave after she was told that she would be contacted if she was finalised. However, when she saw the scenes on Kotha porn app, she approached the police.

In this case, five more women had come forward to file a complaint against the same accused who had posted their videos without their approval on the Kotha app.

According to the police investigation, Ali, who works in Bollywood as a casting director, had made the app with the help of software experts and had released it online doing word-of-mouth publicity. He had three accomplices, a cameraman, a make-up artist and another person who posed as the director. The gang then contacted an aspiring actress from the list that Ali had. The gang called the women to resorts near Arnala Beach in Virar for an audition for a fake web series. After conducting an initial audition, the gang told the actress to come back later along with a male friend to audition for intimate scenes for her comfort. The gang then asked the couple to have intercourse which they filmed claiming that they would be deleted. The actress was then told that she would be contacted if she was chosen for the web series. Ali then uploaded the scenes on the Kotha app. Kotha app closed within 5 months.

While giving information about the working method of the accused, Police inspector of Crime Branch 3, Pramod Badakh, said that the accused had made an app called Kotha. It could be downloaded from the Google Play Store. ₹300-400 was the subscription fee. This app was created by Ali keeping in mind the demand for porn videos. This app called Kotha was launched in the month of August. But as soon as the complaint was filed in December, the police investigated and arrested the accused and closed the app. In the three months of its operation, there were more than 500 subscribers of the app and at least 30 videos were uploaded by Ali and his accomplices.

The gang used the app as a platform to upload unedited scenes of sexual intercourse of couples which were in high demand according to the officials.