Chennai:K V Anand, noted Tamil film director and cinematographer died here early on Friday due to cardiac arrest, sources close to his family said.

"He passed away in a hospital at 3 AM due to a cardiac arrest, he was 54 years old," Riaz K Ahmed, a film industry publicist and movie buff said.

Anand began his career as a cinematographer in Malayalam movie 'Thenmavin Kombath' in 1994 and following a decade of work as a cinematographer he made his directorial debut in Tamil flick 'Kana Kanden' (2005). 'Thenmavin Kombath' bagged the national award (Best Cinematography) for Anand.

Veteran actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam chief Kamal Haasan said Anand began his life as a photo journalist and established himself as a distinguished cinematographer-film director due to his relentless efforts and initiatives.

"His passing away is a big loss to the film industry. My condolences," Haasan said.

"Anand's colour sense is unique and his camera worked magic on screen. In Sivaji, he made a new attempt to portray Rajinikanth in a different light (in 'Oru Koodai Sunlight' song) which was a huge hit among Rajini fans," film industry tracker, M Bharat Kumar said.

'Ko,' 'Ayan,' 'Maatraan,' and 'Anegan' and 'Kavan' and 'Kaappan' were Anand's popular directorial efforts.

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New Delhi, Jan 26 (PTI): The Congress alleged Saturday its Rithala candidate Sushant Mishra was assaulted by a poll official, and demanded a thorough probe into the incident and action against him.

Party general secretary Jairam Ramesh claimed Sushant Mishra was assaulted by an Election Commission of India official on Saturday.

He alleged the official also attempted to prevent Mishra from undertaking a Padayatra for which the Delhi Police had already given permission.

In a post on X, Ramesh said, "@sushant_m has been actively taking up violations of the Model Code of Conduct by other candidates in the ongoing Delhi Vidhan Sabha elections. This unprecedented and illegal act of partisanship by an official of a Constitutional body like the ECI can only be seen as a desperate attempt by the AAP and BJP to stem the surge of support for his candidacy and that of the Congress Party in the Delhi Vidhan Sabha elections"

Ramesh said the Congress remains undaunted and will continue to raise the voice of people and protect the sanctity of elections.

"To preserve the integrity of the electoral process, the Indian National Congress demands a full inquiry into the incident and immediate corrective action against the concerned official," the Congress leader demanded.

Mishra has also separately written to the returning office and Chief Electoral officer and the Election Commission about the incident, demanding action against the accused.