SPC transfers boutique cash fraud case to Crime Branch

The police have transferred the investigation concerning the alleged pilferage of cash from a bespoke hand-crafted designer jewellery shop run by social media influencer and daughter of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and actor Krishnakumar, Diya Krishna, to the Crime Branch. 

The State Police Chief transferred the case based on the recommendation of the City Police Commissioner of Thiruvananthapuram, who deemed a dedicated Crime Branch probe necessary to ascertain the truth in the case, which required auditing of financial records relating to the procurement, stock, and sale of goods over a protracted period.

The police case was that three women staff in the showroom had, over the past 12 months, siphoned off an estimated ₹69 lakh from the boutique using  QR codes allegedly operated by them. 

The suspect women also alleged that they had operated the accounts at Ms. Diya’s behest to help the latter dodge taxes.

However, Ms. Diya alleged that the staff had used her maternity absence to swindle her of large amounts of money. 

The suspect women accused Ms. Diya and her father of kidnapping them and illegally detaining them at the actor’s apartment to extort the “lost money” from them.

They alleged that the father-daughter-duo intimidated them and disparaged them on caste terms. The women hail from backward class sections of society, and one of them belongs to a Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe Society. 

The police registered cases based on both the complaints, even as the accusations and counter-charges played out sensationally on social and conventional media. 

The police also sought the bank transaction details of both parties to determine the facts of the case. 

The police stated that the women employees were yet to appear before the investigation officer. They called on their houses at Valiyathura, a coastal locality in the city.

Meanwhile, Mr. Krishnakumar and his daughter moved the Principal Sessions Court, Thiruvananthapuram, for anticipatory bail, given the grave nature of charges raised against them by their former employees. Both of them denied the accusations and termed the charges trumped up. Both parties had petitioned Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s office for a fair and free investigation.

The police stated that the case required a detailed and protracted investigation, given the financial angle and accusations of extrajudicial questioning, alleged caste slurs, and condemnatory statements on social media. 

Published - June 12, 2025 12:01 am IST