Sun Pictures COO arrested for cheating

Chennai: A senior executive of Sun Pictures, who was arrested on charges of cheating and intimidation, has been remanded in judicial custody, police said.

Hansraj Saxena, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Sun Pictures which is owned by Kalanidhi Maran, media magnate and grand-nephew of DMK chief M Karunanidhi, was arrested based on a complaint by a Salem-based distributor, a statement said last night.

Hansraj Saxena's arrest had a direct affect on Sun TV shares as it fell 4 per cent in early morning trade on Monday.

T S Selvaraj, the complainant, had said that Saxena, whose Sun Pictures had produced the Tamil film, 'Theerada Vilayattu Pillai' starring Vishal, had sold him the film's Salem distribution rights for a sum of Rs. 1.25 crore. The film was released last year.

However, Saxena had directly released the film with the help of local theatres, the release said, quoting the complaint.

When Sevaraj demanded a sum of Rs. 82.53 lakh from Saxena, he allegedly delayed repaying the sum and on January 5, 2011 threatened Selvaraj when he asked for his money, the release said.

Selvaraj later filed a complaint on July 1 with KK Nagar police in Chennai, following which Saxena was arrested.