Upasana, Nagma Say Poonam Dhillon, Padmini Kolhapure Misused CINTAA Funds
MUMBAI-The dispute over the management and committee of the Cine and Television Artistes’ Association (CINTAA) has taken another turn, with actor and former Cintaa office-bearer Upasana Singh alleging that funds belonging to the organization were transferred after a previously frozen bank account was accessed.
“We have FDs in five banks and accounts in five banks. When our committee was dissolved, Deepak Parashar was the treasurer. So, we informed all the banks that the committee had been dissolved. We told them that when a new committee comes, whoever takes charge, the accounts can be opened. Until then, they should remain frozen,” Upasana said.
She alleged that the situation changed after the committee claimed victory in the ongoing dispute.
“When we won a few days ago, we thought we would again inform them that this committee has come in. But our understanding was that the accounts would be opened only after a court order came stating that this committee would now function. Until then, they should not be opened,” she said.
Upasana claimed that Cintaa subsequently discovered that one of its accounts had already been accessed and that money from the organization’s fixed deposits had allegedly been transferred to another account.
Questioning how the fixed deposits could have been broken without the consent of the members, Upasana said, “It is such a big issue because if you want to break the FDs of any institution, you have to ask the members first. How can they break the FDs?”
She further alleged that office staff helped facilitate the process despite the account being frozen.
Upasana named actors Poonam Dhillon and Padmini Kolhapure while describing the alleged interaction.
“They took Paintal saab, Poonam and Padmini and told the bank, ‘This is our stamp, this is our email ID and this is our office. You open our account through KYC.’ The staff was also there and showed the bank that this was their office,” she claimed.
She further alleged that those involved represented themselves as members of the committee despite, according to her, not holding those positions.
“When you are not holding any position and you are not the general secretary, how can you say that you are the general secretary? They declared themselves as the committee,” Upasana alleged.
According to Upasana, the money was transferred through different transactions, although the exact amount of fixed deposits that had allegedly been broken was not yet clear.
“The money was transferred in different ways. We don’t know how many FDs have been broken because we have around Rs 90 lakh there,” she said.
Actress Nagma also questioned the alleged use of CINTAA funds for staff salaries amid the dispute over the association’s committee.
“You are saying that Ganesh Utsav is going on, and it is necessary to pay the staff. But whose money is it? You are distributing the artists’ money to the staff. And this is not right.”
The allegations by Upasana and Nagma come amid the ongoing dispute over the management and committee of CINTAA, with the matter scheduled to come up before the court on October 26. (IANS)
