What sparked the controversy?
Two FIRs have been filed at the Museum police station in Thiruvananthapuram:
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FIR 1: Filed by Diya and her father, accusing three female employees of swapping the store’s QR code with their personal codes and defrauding the boutique of Rs69 lakh over a 10-month period.
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FIR 2: Filed by the same employees, accusing Diya, her sister Ahana, mother, and father Krishnakumar of abduction, extortion, and caste-based harassment.
Diya’s version of events:
Speaking to the media, Diya and her father claimed the scam was uncovered when a friend tried to pay at the store and the money failed to reach the business account. According to Diya, the employees convinced customers that the shop’s QR code was “corrupted” and directed payments to their personal accounts.
Diya says she has submitted CCTV footage and a video where one of the employees confesses to splitting the money. The family also claimed the employees returned around Rs9 lakh, with over Rs60 lakh still unaccounted for.
Diya denies the abduction charge, saying the employees voluntarily travelled with her and her family from her flat to her father’s office after the building’s society president asked them to resolve the matter elsewhere.
What the employees say:
The accused employees told the media they had worked at the boutique for a year and regularly handed over money received from customers to Diya in cash. Since these were off-the-record transactions, they claim to have no proof.
They allege that on May 29, they were forcibly taken to Krishnakumar’s office and insulted based on their caste. The next day, they resigned. They filed their FIR on June 2 and claim police delayed registering it until late that night.
Latest developments
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A special investigation team has been formed under SHO Vimal S.
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Police are examining bank statements from both parties covering July 2024 to April 2025.
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A government audit of the boutique’s finances is underway.
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Police are reviewing CCTV footage and the alleged confession video.
What’s at stake
This is no longer just a workplace dispute. With allegations of financial crime, caste discrimination, and abduction, the case has far-reaching legal implications. Both parties have provided conflicting narratives, and investigations are still in the early stages.
As the probe deepens, the public awaits clarity—and accountability.
Manjusha Radhakrishnan has been slaying entertainment news and celebrity interviews in Dubai for 18 years—and she’s just getting started. As Entertainment Editor, she covers Bollywood movie reviews, Hollywood scoops, Pakistani dramas, and world cinema.
Red carpets? She’s walked them all—Europe, North America, Macau—covering IIFA (Bollywood Oscars) and Zee Cine Awards like a pro. She’s been on CNN with Becky Anderson dropping Bollywood truth bombs like Salman Khan Black Buck hunting conviction and hosted panels with directors like Bollywood’s Kabir Khan and Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh. She has also covered film festivals around the globe.
Oh, and did we mention she landed the cover of Xpedition Magazine as one of the UAE’s 50 most influential icons?
She was also the resident Bollywood guru on Dubai TV’s Insider Arabia and Saudi TV, where she dishes out the latest scoop and celebrity news. Her interview roster reads like a dream guest list—Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Shah Rukh Khan, Robbie Williams, Sean Penn, Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt, Joaquin Phoenix, and Morgan Freeman.
From breaking celeb news to making stars spill secrets, Manjusha doesn’t just cover entertainment—she owns it while looking like a star herself.