South Indian actor Vishal detained by police
The star posted on social media that he was illegally held for eight hours
Movie actor and film producer Vishal was detained by the Chennai police for eight hours trying to break into the Tamil Nadu Film Producers Council (TNFPC) office which was locked by one faction of the members, said police.
Vishal is the TNFPC President.
On December 19, some members of TNFPC, protesting against Vishal, locked up the office. The following morning, Vishal and his supporters reached the council’s office. The police, deployed to prevent any clash between the two factions, tried to persuade Vishal to leave.
Refusing to leave, Vishal argued with the police in a bid to try break open the lock. Police then detained him.
Vishal told reporters that the locking of the office was illegal.
According to media reports, Vishal’s decision to hold a musical event with maestro Ilayaraja to raise funds for Cyclone Gaja-affected communities was reportedly taken without the consent of the producers’ body, which created the rift.
In a series of tweets, Vishal protested the police action, calling out the Chennai police over their actions.
“Police who were mute yesterday when unauthorised people locked the doors & gates of TFPC have arrested me & my colleague today for no fault of ours, absolutely unbelievable [sic],” he posted. “We will fight back, will do everything to conduct [music composer] Ilayaraja sir event & raise funds to help producers in distress. Targeting me for a simple reason that I want to do good for producers who have lost everything, well I wil continue to do this no matter what. My conscience is clear... I will continue to march ahead.”
Vishal’s father G.K. Reddy told the media that his son “will face the challenge and come out victorious”.