Kannur: Police have registered a case following a complaint by senior CPM leader P K Sreemathi over false claims that she was receiving a family pension in the name of a former legislator, officials said on Sunday.

The Kannur Rural Cyber Police filed the case under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act, including provisions related to outraging the modesty of a woman and defamation.

According to police officials, the case was registered on Saturday night based on Sreemathi's statement, and an investigation is currently underway.

Six accused have been named in the case, including an online news portal, a Malayalam television channel and a local newspaper based in Kannur, police said.

The controversy began after some online news platforms, citing alleged RTI documents, claimed that Sreemathi was drawing a family pension in the name of former MLA P R Krishnan.

However, Krishnan's family clarified on Thursday that the pension recipient was his widow, who also shares the name P K Sreemathi, and that the allegations against the CPM leader stemmed from the confusion caused by the identical names.

Krishnan was a Congress leader and served as a member of the Travancore-Cochin Legislative Assembly from 1954 to 1956.

Following the allegations, Sreemathi submitted complaints to the chief minister, the home minister and the state police chief.

She also said she would send legal notices to those responsible for making the accusations.

Recently, while speaking about the emotional distress caused by the controversy, Sreemathi broke down and said the allegations had deeply affected her and her family. She pointed out that her husband had died only 10 months ago, yet she was being accused of receiving a family pension linked to another legislator. (PTI)