The Southern India Cinematographers Union (SICA) led by its president P.C. Sreeram, on Tuesday lodged a complaint at the City Police Commissioner’s office seeking to initiate criminal action against the erstwhile office-bearers who allegedly misappropriated union funds to the tune of Rs. 40 lakh.
According to the complainant, N.K. Viswanathan, G. Shiva and K.S. Selvaraj were holding the posts of president, general secretary and treasurer of the union for eight years from 2008 without conducting any election. Only after an intervention by court, elections were held and new office bearers assumed office on January 12. Mr. Sreeram said: “We are constrained to lodge the complaint as the opposite parties failed to furnish accounts in spite of repeated reminders.”
Ramnath Shetty, treasurer, said the present office bearers, while auditing the accounts of the union had found a series of serious irregularities in accounts in the period 2008-2014.
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On August 14, the annual general meeting of union declared that there were no bills furnished to the tune of Rs. 40 lakh with regard to a cultural programme conducted in Malaysia.
They also said the opposite parties had promised that G. Shiva, former general secretary, would produce all the bills and vouchers to account for the missing money before September 30, he willfully failed to furnish it.
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“Non-furnishing of the bills and vouchers to the tune of Rs. 40 lakh and their continuous false promises had pushed the union to the conclusion that all three of them had willfully misappropriated the union funds, causing wrongful loss to the union and wrongful gain to themselves,” said the complainant.