The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is conducting raids at multiple premises linked to AM Gopalan, producer of the controversial movie Empuraan. Several teams of the ED arrived at Gokulam Grand Corporate Office and Gokulam Mall in Kozhikode and the offices of Sree Gokulam Chits in Kodambakkam, Chennai, on Friday (4th April) to conduct searches.
As per reports, the raids are part of an ongoing investigation into the alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) by Gopalan’s firm, Gokulam Chit & Finance Co. Pvt Ltd. The central agency is also questioning the businessman in connection with a bank transaction involving large amounts of money. Gokulam Chits operates in multiple states, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Puducherry, Maharashtra, New Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana. The firm reportedly has stakes in multiple sectors, including hospitality, media, health, education, transport, and logistics. No official statement has been released by the ED regarding the current raids.
Notably, this is not the first time Gopalan’s firm has been under the scanner of the authorities. In 2017, his firm’s offices in three different states were reportedly raided by the Income Tax Department for an alleged tax evasion. The officials claimed that Sree Gokulam Chits had concealed in its records significant amounts of income which included recovered bad debts and interest earnings. It was alleged that the firm did not disclose income to the tune of ₹1,107 crore over five years. Moreover, in 2019, Gopalan’s son, Byju Gopalan, was imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates on charges of forging documents.
L2:Empuraan stirred controversy for portraying Hindus in a bad light
Recently, L2:Empuraan, produced by Gopalan, received major backlash for the alleged misportrayal of the 2002 Gujarat riots. The movie was accused of showing Hindus as insensitive and merciless, using the context of the Godhra riots. Following the controversy around the movie, Gopalan has reportedly asked director-actor Prithviraj Sukumaran to modify certain controversial parts of the movie. Later on, Mohanlal, the lead actor in the movie, also issued a statement addressing the outrage surrounding the film’s depiction of Hindus and the Godhra riots. He acknowledged that certain aspects of the film had caused distress to some of his fans and assured that the team had decided to remove such references.
