The ongoing dispute within the Cine and TV Artistes' Association (CINTAA) has taken a new turn after actor Upasana Singh filed a police complaint against former office-bearers Poonam Dhillon and Padmini Kolhapure.
On Friday, a video making the rounds on social media showed former CINTAA members Upasana and Priti Sapru involved in a confrontation with the police. They were seen asking a police officer to return papers that had been taken. Upasana has now accused Poonam Dhillon and Padmini Kolhapure of attempting to remove documents from the CINTAA office.
In a conversation with Hindustan Times, Upasana alleged that the veteran actors were attempting to “take out CINTAA documents in a tempo”. The incident reportedly came to light when an actor passing by the CINTAA office noticed Poonam and Padmini allegedly taking away documents and other belongings. “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 said.
According to Upasana, the issue arose after a CINTAA member flagged alleged discrepancies in the association's records and sought a forensic audit of the documents. “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 said.
The actor further claimed that she and the others told the police that Poonam and Padmini were no longer authorised to enter the CINTAA premises following the approval of the election results. A police complaint has been filed at the Versova police station.
The incident comes amid growing tensions within CINTAA ahead of its elections, scheduled for September 12. The association has faced allegations of unilateral decision-making against Poonam Dhillon and Padmini Kolhapure. Last month, 11 members resigned over concerns about how key decisions were being taken without adequate consultation with the executive committee.
Poonam and Padmini rejected the allegations, while the election process was later challenged in court. On September 9, the court allowed the polls to proceed, subject to the outcome of the ongoing legal proceedings.
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