Mumbai: The ongoing controversy surrounding the Cine and TV Artistes’ Association (CINTAA) has escalated, with actor and former CINTAA president Upasana Singh filing a police complaint against Poonam Dhillon and Padmini Kolhapure.
Upasana has alleged that the two attempted to remove CINTAA documents without authorisation.
On Friday, a video showing actors and former CINTAA members Upasana and Priti Sapru in a heated exchange with police surfaced online. Dhillon and Kolhapure were also seen at the scene.
In the video, Upasana can be heard asking a police officer to hand back papers that had allegedly been taken.
Speaking about the incident, Upasana alleged that Dhillon and Kolhapure were trying to “take out CINTAA documents in a tempo”. She described the alleged move as an “illegal” way of handling the ongoing dispute.
According to Upasana, the matter came to light when an actor passing by the CINTAA office noticed Dhillon and Kolhapure allegedly removing documents and other belongings. The actor then alerted her.
“An actor who was passing by called me and told me what was happening. I immediately reached there and called the police. That is when everything happened,” she was quoted as saying by HT City.
Upasana said the development followed concerns raised by a CINTAA member over alleged irregularities in the association’s documents and a demand for a forensic investigation.
“A CINTAA member had raised concerns about irregularities in the documents and demanded a forensic jaanch. He felt that something was not right with them. After that, today I got to know that Padmini and Poonam were taking out CINTAA documents in a tempo,” she alleged.
She further alleged that she and others tried to explain to the police that Dhillon and Kolhapure were no longer authorised to enter the CINTAA premises after the elections were approved.
“We were trying to explain to the police that they [Poonam and Padmini] can’t even enter the CINTAA premises now that the elections have been approved. Taking the documents is an illegal move to cover their tracks,” she said.
Upasana said a police complaint has since been filed at the Versova police station.
“We have filed a police complaint. The elections will happen tomo. There is surely something that they are trying to hide. If everything was fine, why would they try to take out these documents?” she said.
The incident comes as CINTAA prepares for its elections on September 12.
Over the past few weeks, the association has been caught up in an escalating internal dispute over its functioning, with Dhillon and Kolhapure facing allegations of taking unilateral decisions.
A section of members has also raised concerns over the association’s functioning and the handling of certain decisions and documents.
The crisis deepened in August when 11 members, including eight executive committee members, resigned over alleged unilateral decision-making.
Dhillon denied the allegations, while CINTAA rejected claims about the dissolution of its executive committee.
Amid the dispute, the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) announced fresh CINTAA elections for September 12.
Dhillon and Kolhapure challenged the polls, but on September 9, the court allowed the elections to proceed, subject to the ongoing legal proceedings.
