High drama unfolded outside the Tamil Film Producer’s Council (TFPC) on Thursday when its President Vishal was taken into preventive custody by Chennai police. This after he tried to break open the lock of the office in T Nagar’s Yogambal Street. The actor had a long standoff with the police, who he claimed were standing watch over the Producers’ Council office that had been locked by people who were not members of TFPC.
Calling this criminal trespassing, he accused the police of preventing office bearers of the Council to enter the property. He was then detained by the police and taken to the Teynampet Police Station. "I have not done any mistake. They are not allowing me to go inside my office. If we ask questions they are arresting us. This is unbelievable," said Vishal to the media.
The events on Thursday comes a day after a group of under 30 film producers locked TFPC’s offices in T Nagar and Anna Salai in Chennai demanding Vishal's resignation. They alleged that Vishal was involved in criminal activities and demanded that he hand over the accounts of the Council.
The group, led by producer AL Azhagappan, locked the T Nagar office and then went to the Anna Salai office of the council and locked the building. Among the many allegations against Vishal and other office bearers, the most prominent ones are the misappropriation of funds of the TFPC amounting to Rs 7 crore and violation of the bye-laws of the Council.
AL Azhagappan spoke to the reporters outside TFPC office on Anna Salai on Wednesday and said that that no general committee meeting had been convened after Vishal assumed office. “When he became the president, Vishal promised certain things to the members of TFPC. Those promises have not been fulfilled. He has also engaged in a lot of criminal activities,” he claimed.
The group of producers also alleged that after Gnanavel Raja resigned as the Secretary of the Council, Vishal did not call for an Executive Committee meeting to nominate a replacement and instead nominated Kathiresan in his place without consulting with others.
They also reiterated their allegations that both the elected Vice Presidents, actor Prakash Raj and director Gautham Vasudev Menon, do not attend TFPC meetings. The protestors also claimed that Vishal organised events without getting the General Committee approval, which was a violation of the byelaws.
Watch: