Mumbai, October 1, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The ongoing dispute over the management and committee of the Cine and Television Artistes’ Association (CINTAA) has intensified, with actor and former office-bearer Upasana Singh alleging that the organisation’s fixed deposits were accessed and funds transferred without the consent of its members.
In an exclusive conversation with IANS, Upasana claimed that CINTAA maintains fixed deposits and bank accounts with five banks and that the accounts had been kept frozen after the previous committee was dissolved.
“We have FDs in five banks and accounts in five banks. When our committee was dissolved, Deepak Parashar was the treasurer. So, we informed all the banks that the committee had been dissolved. We told them that when a new committee comes, whoever takes charge, the accounts can be opened. Until then, they should remain frozen,” Upasana said.
She alleged that the accounts were supposed to remain frozen until a court order formally recognised the new committee.
“When we won a few days ago, we thought we would again inform them that this committee has come in. But our understanding was that the accounts would be opened only after a court order came stating that this committee would now function. Until then, they should not be opened,” she said.
Upasana further alleged that one of the accounts had already been accessed and that money from CINTAA’s fixed deposits was transferred to another account.
“We found out that the account had already been opened. They had opened their account there, and the money from CINTAA’s FDs was transferred into it. They have used that money in different places,” she alleged.
Questioning how the organisation’s fixed deposits could have been broken without consulting its members, Upasana said, “It is such a big issue because if you want to break the FDs of any institution, you have to ask the members first. How can they break the FDs?”
She also alleged that office staff facilitated the opening of the account by assisting individuals who approached the bank with CINTAA’s documents and credentials.
“They must have needed an authorised signature. But you see, the account was frozen. So what did they do? They met the office staff. The office staff is involved with them. They took the staff to the bank and showed them the stamp, the email ID and the office, and asked them to open the account through KYC,” she alleged.
Upasana named actors Poonam Dhillon and Padmini Kolhapure while describing the alleged interaction with the bank.
“They took Paintal saab, Poonam and Padmini and told the bank, ‘This is our stamp, this is our email ID and this is our office. You open our account through KYC.’ The staff was also there and showed the bank that this was their office,” she claimed.
She further alleged that individuals had represented themselves as members of the committee despite, according to her, not holding the relevant positions.
“When you are not holding any position and you are not the general secretary, how can you say that you are the general secretary? They declared themselves as the committee,” Upasana alleged.
According to her, the money was transferred through multiple transactions, while the exact amount of fixed deposits that had been broken was not yet known.
“The money was transferred in different ways. We don’t know how many FDs have been broken because we have around Rs 90 lakh there,” she said.
Actor Nagma also questioned the alleged use of CINTAA funds during the ongoing dispute, particularly in relation to staff salaries.
“But this money is for the artists. How can they misuse it? They have opened a new account, but what is the point of opening a new account?” Nagma said in an exclusive conversation with IANS.
Referring to the court proceedings, she said the matter was scheduled for a hearing on October 26 and argued that the organisation should wait for the court’s decision.
“Whatever decision comes from the court, we will have to abide by it. Even if the decision does not come in our favour, we will accept it,” she said.
Nagma also questioned the alleged decision to use funds from fixed deposits to pay staff salaries during Ganesh Utsav.
“You are saying that Ganesh Utsav is going on, and it is necessary to pay the staff. But whose money is it? You are distributing the artists’ money to the staff. And this is not right,” she said.
The allegations come amid an ongoing dispute over the management and committee of CINTAA. The claims made by Upasana and Nagma have not been independently established.
Padmini Kolhapure and Poonam Dhillon had not responded to the allegations at the time of publication.
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