Tamil actor Vishal's production house raided a day after accusing H Raja of watching Mersal online
A day after Tamil actor Vishal accused BJP leader H Raja of advocating piracy and watching the Vijay-starrer Mersal online, the Goods and Service Tax (GST) intelligence wing raided the office of the actor's film production company Vishal Film Factory in Chennai.
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Tamil actor Vishal. Image from Twitter/@flickstatus.
The raid — reportedly led by four senior officials from the GST intelligence wing — was conducted following information that Vishal had allegedly evaded service tax worth several lakhs.
"The raid started after 2 pm on the premises of the Vadapalani office of the production house. We are yet to know the extent of service tax evasion by the company. We have just started the searches after information collected for nearly one year," said a senior GST intelligence official, according to a Times of India report.
Vishal Film Factory was set up in 2013, and has till date produced six movie including Kathakali, Naan Sigappu Manithan and Aambala, all of which saw Vishal in the lead role. The actor is also the president of the Tamil Film Producers' Council and the General Secretary of the South Indian Artistes' Association (SIAA)
After Vishal accused Raja of watching Mersal online, the latter responded back saying he didn't have the time. "I don't have the patience to watch a two-and-a-half hour movie. This entire episode shows that whoever opposes the BJP are supporting Vijay, and this is expected. I had not watched the movie. I only watched the clips received on my phone," said Raja, according to a PTI report.
(With inputs from PTI)
