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No bail for Swiss couple in porn case

A Bombay court on Wednesday rejected on merits the bail plea of Swiss couple arrested in Bombay on December 16 last for allegedly shooting pornographic pictures of minor children.

The bail was rejected by Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Usha Iyer after she heard the arguments of the prosecution and defence.

The couple, William Albin Marty (58) and Loshair Lily Marty (57), have been remanded to judicial custody till January 22.

This is for the second time their bail plea has been dismissed. On December 22 last, the court had refused them bail on the ground that investigation was at crucial stage and conduits through whom the couple operated in India and other countries had to be traced.

Additional public prosecutor L R Salunke said police had collected sufficient evidence to nail them in the crime. The police would file chargesheet against the couple on January 22. They had committed serious offences and were likely to abscond if released on bail.

Defence lawyer, Ramnath Selhi, argued that there was no evidence against the accused. He harped on media reports to say that alleged victims went suo motu to the couple and the police allegation of illegal confinement of kids was not true.

He argued that there was a possibility of manipulating pornographic pictures through computers and denied that the accused had forced the kids to perform sexual acts for the camera.

The police are still looking out for the taxi driver who is alleged to have arranged for the minor kids to perform pornographic acts. Interpol has also been alerted to trace the victims and find out the alleged links of the couple with persons in foreign countries engaged in pornography.

Police allege that the couple lured the kids with money, attractive clothes and free rides to perform sexual acts and the pornography movies were sold abroad.

The social service branch of police, which was tipped off by an NGO, seized film rolls containing obscene material when it arrested the couple from a resort hotel on December 16.

The couple have denied their involvement and put up a defence that in Switzerland they stripped off when they went to take a bath on the beach. They also claimed to have visited India as tourists. They claimed to be innocent and said they were falsely implicated.

Police have alleged that the couple visited India and neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to indulge in such offences since last ten years.

Police have also refuted allegations of manipulating pictures. Records indicate the time when the pictures were shot and there was no scope for manipulation.

The accused are charged with offences under IPC such as 342 (wrongful confinement), 347 (confinement to extort property), 354 (assault or criminal force on woman to outrage her modesty, 363 (kidnapping), 366 A (procurement of minor girl), 201 (giving false evidence to screen offender), 292 (sale of obscene books or pornographic material), 34 (common intention) and 114 (abetting the offence).

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