ED questions 'L2: Empuraan' producer Gopalan in chit fund case
Kochi, Apr 7 (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate on Monday questioned Gokulam Gopalan, one of the producers of the Malayalam movie 'L2: Empuraan', at its Kochi office in connection with a foreign exchange law "violation" by his chit fund company, sources said.
The federal probe agency recorded the Kerala-based businessman's statement under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, they said.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is said to have questioned him earlier during searches conducted in the case last week in Kozhikode and Chennai.
The agency has said it seized Rs 1.5 crore in cash after searching the premises of Sree Gokulam Chits and Finance Co Pvt Ltd, the chit fund company owned by Gopalan.
The producer could not be contacted for a response on the allegations made against him and his company by the probe agency.
The ED searches came in the backdrop of the recent controversy surrounding 'L2: Empuraan', the second movie in the 'Lucifer' trilogy.
Touted as one of the costliest Malayalam cinema productions, 'L2: Empuraan' was released on March 27 and soon became a topic of hot debate over its critique of right-wing politics and covert mention of the 2002 Gujarat riots.
The other producers of the film are Antony Perumbavoor and A Subaskaran under the banners of Aashirvad Cinemas and Lyca Productions, respectively.
According to Perumbavoor, a little over two minutes of scenes were deleted from the movie following the controversy.
In a statement last week, ED said it has gathered "specific" intelligence that Sree Gokulam Chits and Finance was collecting subscription to chit funds from people residing outside India without due authorisation.
"The subscription amounts from these people were being collected in cash in violation of the regulations framed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This led to the violation of Regulation 4(b) of Foreign Exchange Management (Permissible Capital Account Transactions) Regulations, 2000 read with circular No 107 dated June 11, 2015 issued by the RBI," the agency claimed.
The company collected Rs 3,71.80 crore in cash from people residing outside India and Rs 220.74 crore through cheques from the same category of people, it said.
'L2: Empuraan' was directed by actor Prithviraj Sukumaran, who also featured in the film alongside Malayalam superstar Mohanlal.
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DMK sacks TN Minister Ponmudy from party post following remarks on Shaivism-Vaishnavism
Chennai (PTI): Senior DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Minister K Ponmudy was on Friday removed from a key party post in the wake of a row over his remarks on Shaivism and Vaishnavism that drew widespread criticism, including from DMK MP Kanimozhi.
DMK President and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin announced that Ponmudy was being "relieved from the party's deputy general secretary post."
Stalin made the announcement in a statement, but did not attribute any reasons for the action.
The move came close on the heels of the minister's apparently distasteful remarks leading to a controversy, with the opposition BJP demanding Ponmudy's sacking from the cabinet.
A video of the minister making the purported remarks in the context of a sex worker has gone viral. There was no immediate response from Ponmudy, the state Forest minister.
"Minister Ponmudy continuing in his post is shameful.... CM Stalin, will you order Ponmudy's arrest," Narayanan Thirupathy, Vice-President of the BJP's TN unit said in a social media post.
He has maligned the women of Tamil Nadu with his comments, the BJP leader alleged.
Kanimozhi also hit out at her party colleague.
She said, "The recent speech of minister Ponmudy is not acceptable." "For whatever reason he had spoken, such vulgar words are condemnable," she said in a post on X.
Thirupathy welcomed Kanimozhi criticising Ponmudy.
Ponmudy had earlier courted controversy, linking north Indians with selling pani puri.
Taking a dig at those who insist jobs will be available for those who learn Hindi, he had wondered who were selling pani puri in the city (Coimbatore) now, an obvious reference to the predominantly Hindi-speaking vendors involved in the trade.
