Mumbai: The Mumbai police arrested eight people including an actress; a professional photographer and a foreign production company’s employee, allegedly running a porn racket in Maharashtra.

The police said the group would shoot porn films in Mumbai. They would, however, get the clips uploaded on OTT platforms via servers located abroad to avoid detection. The group is also accused of luring aspiring actors into the porn industry by promising them work in short films.

As to the police sources, the group, to capitalize on the growing demand for porn films during the Covid- 19 induced lockdown, made several adult films in bungalows in and around Mumbai. The actress Gehana Vasisth launched a production house and produced porn clips on the pretext of making short films, said police.

The police on Monday arrested one person named Umesh Kamat whose alleged role in the racket was to coordinate with a foreign production house regarding the uploading of porn clips on OTT platforms. “Umesh Kamat used to do liasoning in the country for the foreign based company he was working in. He would also strike business deals,” Kedar Pawar, a police officer, said. The police are investigating the racket.