Mumbai: Film director arrested in porn racket case

Property cell of the Mumbai crime branch on Wednesday arrested film director Tanvir Hasmi from Surat in connection with the pornography racket

Property cell of the Mumbai crime branch on Wednesday arrested film director Tanvir Hasmi from Surat in connection with the pornography racket.

Producer-director Yasmeen Khan produced at metropolitan court.

Hasmi is the ninth accused to be arrested in the case that involves allegedly luring Bollywood newcomers under the guise of small roles and force them to act in porn films by using agreements signed by them to their disadvantage.

Hasmi and the other eight accused were produced before a magistrate on Wednesday. Five of them, including the mastermind of the racket, producer-director Rowa alias Yasmeen Khan, were sent to judicial custody, while others, including Hasmi, model-actress Gehana Vasisth, Khan’s husband Shaan Banerjee alias Dipankar Khasanvis, and Umesh Kamat, were remanded to police custody till February 15.

Property cell conducted raids at a bungalow in Madh of Malad (West) on February 4. Hasmi’s name came to the fore during the interrogation of Vasisth and other arrested accused. He would allegedly accept obscene videos from Vasisth and others and later sold them to several mobile app owners, said police inspector Kedari Pawar of the property cell.

Vasisth runs a production house and allegedly makes obscene videos and sends them to other arrested accused Kamat. Kamat who worked as a coordinator with a UK based production house forwarded them who later uploaded on their website, added a police officer.

Vasisth’s legal and press team has, however, maintained that “Vasisth (aka Vandana Tiwari), is completely innocent and she is not involved in the porn movies racket. She had only shot erotica and there is no pornography in her work.”

Meanwhile, another first information report (FIR) has been registered by the Malwani police station following a complaint lodged by a model alleging that she was forced to act in pornographic films by some accused arrested by the property cell, including Rowa Khan. The complainant, a 29-year-old model, has alleged Khan asked her to sign a contract and later forced her to perform an obscene act under duress.