The Chennai police released actor and producer Vishal Krishna on Thursday, hours after arresting him for allegedly trying to use force to enter the office of a film producers’ body in Chennai.
A group of 300 producers who have sought his resignation had on Wednesday locked the office of the Tamil Nadu Film Producers’ Council, Dinamalar reported. Vishal is the council’s president.
Vishal allegedly tried to break the lock at the T Nagar office around 11 am on Thursday. The police stopped the actor from entering the office, and arrested him when he persisted.
The film producers who had demanded Vishal’s resignation had claimed that he was involved in criminal activities. Following the arrest, the group has started a meeting with Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami at the state secretariat in Chennai.
However, Vishal claimed the police’s actions constituted “criminal trespassing”, The News Minute reported. “I have not done any mistake,” he told mediapersons. “They are not allowing me to go inside my office. If we ask questions they are arresting us. This is unbelievable.”
The group of producers had demanded that Vishal hand over the accounts to them and quit, The News Minute reported. “When he became the president, Vishal promised certain things to the members of Tamil Nadu Film Producers’ Council,” producer AL Azhagappan told the media at the Anna Salai office. “Those promises have not been fulfilled. He has also engaged in a lot of criminal activities.”
The producers had claimed that after producer Gnanavel Raja resigned as the council’s secretary earlier this month, the body did not call for an Executive Committee meeting to nominate a replacement, but simply appointed producer Kathiresan to the post. They alleged that neither vice president – actor Prakash Raj and director Gautham Vasudev Menon – attend the council’s meetings, and that Vishal had organised events without getting the approval of the body’s general committee. The film producers also handed over the keys of the two offices to the Chennai Police.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!