Upasana Singh Takes Charge Of CINTAA After Court Ruling, Alleges ₹73 Lakh FD Transfer

Summary

Upasana Singh alleged that CINTAA's fixed deposits worth ₹73 lakh were broken and shifted to another account.
The dispute began after 11 executive committee members resigned on August 7 amid differences with Poonam Dhillon and Padmini Kolhapure.
The new committee says it will focus on member welfare, pending payments and recovering association funds

Upasana Singh is Cine and TV Artistes’ Association's (CINTAA) new president. This comes after months of leadership conflict and a court battle. Singh said the court backed her side, allowing her committee to assume control of CINTAA on October 27. The former general secretary said the new team will prioritise member welfare and try to recover money she alleges was shifted from the association’s fixed deposits.

Upasana Singh takes over as CINTAA president after Dhindoshi court ruling

“After such a long fight, when everyone said that Upasana Singh should be the president, it showed the confidence people have in me. I am looking forward to working with them for the betterment of the organisation,” Singh told Hindustan Times.

Singh said her committee formally took charge on October 27 after a hawan and puja, adding, “There was a lot of negativity, and so much bad was happening over the past few months. We performed the puja and started our work. Now we have to focus on the members and make sure they get the help they need.”

Poonam Dhillon On CINTAA Resignations - Instagram

Poonam Dhillon On CINTAA Resignations: ‘Padmini And I Are Working Hard For Goodwill’

By Outlook Entertainment Desk

About CINTA dispute

The confrontation began in August, when 11 executive committee members quit over differences with then-president Poonam Dhillon and senior vice-president Padmini Kolhapure about the association's functioning.

Singh said the earlier committee effectively ceased to exist once the resignations came in on August 7. She said the resignations set the stage for a fresh election and the later legal fight over control of the body.

FWICE oversaw a new vote on September 12. Singh won the most votes, but Dhillon and Kolhapure’s camp challenged the result and took the matter to court.

Poonam Dhillon Responds To Upasana Singh - Instagram

Poonam Dhillon Responds To Upasana Singh’s CINTAA Claims: ‘Every Penny Is Accounted For’

By Outlook Entertainment Desk

Court fight escalates

Singh said the rival camp organised a separate election on October 20 even though the September vote had been allowed to proceed while legal challenges remained pending.

The Bombay High Court then barred the faction from moving ahead on the October 20 outcome and sent a contempt show-cause notice after finding possible breaches of its earlier orders.

“The decision was supposed to come on October 26, but they conducted the election on October 20. On October 21, we filed a contempt petition. The judge got very upset and asked them to explain how this did not amount to contempt of court. They (Padmini and Poonam) have to give an explanation on November 18,” Singh said.

“When the judge came to know about all of this, he ruled in our favour. The verdict has only strengthened my trust in our legal system. I have always believed our judicial system is not weak. My faith has increased even more,” she added.

Claims fixed deposits worth ₹73 lakh were broken

“The person who used to look after our accounts told us that FDs worth ₹ 73 lakh had been broken. This is the money of CINTAA’s actors. Four banks did not allow the accounts to operate freely, but Punjab National Bank opened an account, and the money was transferred there,” she said.

She said the committee will try to get the money back. “Definitely. That is why this fight is going on. They know that we will recover it. We cannot let the money of members, which has been accumulated over so many years, go like this. The money should have been spent on their welfare, their medical needs and the problems of needy members. Instead, they have spent it all. We do not even know how much more money they have transferred to that account.”

Singh also said key papers were shifted out of the association, which she claims hurt its day-to-day work. “The loss has only been that of the members. Their money has gone, and their papers have been taken to another place. If the papers had not gone, the FD would not have been broken,” she said.

Her committee also plans to deal with delayed member payments. Singh said FWICE president B N Tiwari and general secretary Ashok Dubey had promised support on that issue.