Mallika Sukumaran denies charges of fraud

On Wednesday, noted Malayalam actress Mallika Sukumaran, wife of late actor Sukumaran, denied any links with a financial firm Total4U, owned by 20-year-old Sabarinath, the key accused, who was arrested by the police in September on charges of defrauding people of crores of rupees by accepting deposits with the promise of giving high returns.

She was talking to reporters in Thiruvananthapuram after a leading Malayalam newspaper alleged (without mentioning the actress' name) that she had been working overtime to hide Chandramathi, a government employee, another accused in the same cheating case.

"I know Chandramathi only as a member of the Film Censor Board. We have had no relation at all, be it in financial or any other deals. It is really painful that baseless allegations are being levelled against my family and me,' Mallika explained.

"Despite being a good friend of the media, no one approached me to find the facts. It is really painful. That's why I decided to meet the press," Mallika, mother of upcoming stars Prithviraj and Indrajith, claimed that she is totally innocent on the issue.

Notably, Malayalam actress Roma and director Major Ravi were also subject to media attention when they were questioned by the Kerala Crime Branch personnel last month in connection with the same financial fraud by Sabarinath. According to investigators, they were questioned to check the veracity of certain "insinuating" reports in the media.