ED raids Chennai office of L2: Empuraan producer Gokulam Gopalan

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday initiated searches at the chit fund company of Kerala-based businessman Gokulam Gopalan, one of the producers of the movie "L2: Empuraan", as part of an alleged Rs 1,000 crore foreign exchange violation case, official sources said.

The searches are being undertaken at five premises in various states, including in Chennai (Tamil Nadu) and Kochi (Kerala), under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), the sources said.

The action is being undertaken against Gopalan and his company Sree Gopalan chit and Finance Co. Ltd. for alleged FEMA violations of Rs 1,000 crore with certain NRIs and some related "unauthorised" transactions, the sources.

"L2: Empuraan", the sequel of "Lucifer" movie, a trilogy planned by the Prithviraj-Mohanlal team, has become a topic of hot debate over its critique of right-wing politics and the covert mention of the Gujarat riots.

Mohanlal recently expressed regret over the raging row and assured that the controversial portions would be removed from the movie. The movie was reportedly released after 27 cuts.