A woman has accused the eldest son of Kerala CPM chief Kodiyeri Balakrishnan of sexually exploiting and impregnating her on the false promise of marriage and then refusing to pay for the child’s upkeep after four years.

Binoy Balakrishnan, a businessman, has said he knows the woman but denied fathering her child.

The woman, who hails from Bihar but is now based in Mumbai, filed a police complaint against Binoy in the city on June 14, accusing him of rape, cheating and criminal intimidation. She has claimed that she has an eight-year-old daughter with Binoy, 37.

According to the complainant, she met Binoy in Dubai, where she used to work as a bar dancer. Binoy allegedly showered her with gifts and money and even offered to marry her if she quit her job and moved to India.

He allegedly rented a flat in Mumbai for her in 2010 and often visited her and paid for maintenance till 2015. She alleged that Binoy had claimed he had lost big money in business.

The woman accused Binoy of distancing himself from her and the child after she got to know in 2018 that he was married.

Binoy had filed a complaint with the police in his home district of Kannur six months ago accusing the woman of trying to blackmail him by demanding Rs 5 crore.

“She sent me a letter six months ago demanding Rs 5 crore. Based on that letter, I have already filed a complaint with Kannur police, who are investigating the matter,” he told a Malayalam channel on Tuesday.

He admitted he knew the woman, but did not go into details.

“Now she has filed a complaint (against me). I learnt about the complaint only today (Tuesday). The charges are baseless,” said the son of one of Kerala’s most powerful politicians.

“I challenge her claim that I fathered her child. There are several scientific ways to prove that. Her complaint itself is on blackmail mode,” Binoy said.

He, however, did not see any political conspiracy behind the allegations. “No, I don’t see any party backing her,” Binoy said.

The woman said she would not back out of the case. “I am ready for a paternity test,” she said.

The woman claimed that she came to know last year that Binoy was married, and that when she confronted him, he threatened her with consequences.

She also claimed to have “evidence like WhatsApp messages and photographs” to establish her relationship with Binoy.

CPM politburo member Brinda Karat told TV channels in Delhi: “The party has nothing to do with this and the party will not interfere in this. The party will not protect anyone.”

The BJP demanded an impartial investigation into the woman’s complaint.

“This complaint needs to be investigated as the people of Kerala deserve to know what is happening in the family of Kodiyeri,” senior BJP leader B. Gopalakrishnan told reporters.

“The government should ideally stand by the victim. But the Pinarayi (Vijayan) government is harassing the victim by investigating his complaint in Kannur,” said the BJP leader.

Not a stranger to controversies, Binoy had faced charges of financial fraud in Dubai last year.

A UAE businessman had lodged a complaint accusing Binoy of not repaying a loan of AED 7 million (Rs 13 crore) he had taken for business.

The UAE immigration immediately slapped a travel ban on Binoy, who got stranded in the Gulf emirate.

Opposition parties had seized the opportunity to target the CPM state secretary, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. The leader had dismissed the allegations and claimed that his son was innocent.

It is still not clear how the family settled the dues and got the travel ban lifted so that Binoy could return to India.

Although not linked to the CPM in any manner, the financial fraud allegations against Binoy had created a flutter, especially since the party’s state committee meeting had been held around that time.