Thiruvananthapuram: The three former employees, Vineetha, Divya, and Radhakumar, on Saturday, accused by social media influencer Diya Krishna in a theft case, have come forward with counter-allegations, claiming they were threatened and confined. "They used casteist remarks and even threatened to kill us," said the women.

Speaking to the media here, the women admitted that their personal bank accounts were used for business transactions, but claimed it was done as per Diya's request. "She said it was to avoid paying tax and also to manage financial help requests from customers using her personal contact," they said. They added that Diya even used their home addresses to send international orders. "It was only later that we started suspecting something was wrong," they said.

According to them, the issue began after all three resigned on May 28, citing overwork and unfair treatment. This allegedly provoked Diya, who called them and threatened to file a police case against them for theft unless they brought her ₹5 lakh. "She said she would name and shame us on her Instagram if we didn't pay up," they said.

Fearing defamation, the trio, accompanied by two of their husbands, said they met Diya at her flat with ₹5 lakh on May 30. From there, they were allegedly taken in separate cars to an unknown office space, where they claim they were confined without their phones from 11 am to 6.45 pm. One of the husbands was reportedly sent out to fetch more money, after which an additional ₹3.82 lakh was handed over.

The woman further alleged that a man claiming to be a police officer was also present at the scene. "He forced us to sign three cheques each of ₹15 lakh and coerced us into making false statements," they claimed.

They said they approached the police with a complaint later on June 2. Diya and her father, actor Krishnakumar, also filed a counter-complaint on June 3.

"We only told our family on Saturday (May 31), and after discussing it with them, we filed the complaint on Monday," Vineetha told Onmanorama.

While talking to the media, they alleged that attempts were made by the police to manipulate their statements. They also accused Diya's family of recording videos of them without consent and accessing one year's worth of their bank statements without their knowledge.