Unni Mukundan denies assaulting his former PR manager over Tovino praise

Unni Mukundan has denied recent claims made by his former PR manager Vipin Kumar, who alleged that the Marco actor physically and verbally abused him for praising Tovino Thomas in a Facebook post. A case has been filed against Unni with the Info Park Police in Kochi, Kerala.

PR manager's allegations

According to a report by India Today, in his statement to the police, Vipin said, “I did promotions for Tovino Thomas’ Narivetta. I had posted praising the film, which Unni didn’t like. He called me that night and asked me to stop working for him. I said okay.” Vipin then claimed that Unni had asked him to come to the parking lot of his building on Monday, where he was assaulted. The FIR states that Unni Mukundan hit Vipin in the face, damaged his sunglasses, and threatened to kill him.

Unni Mukundan responds to assault charges

Speaking to Manorama, Unni Mukundan denied all the allegations and shared his version of events, saying that while he did visit Vipin in the flat's parking lot and broke his sunglasses, he did not assault him and that the area has CCTV cameras as proof.

"That's when I asked him to remove his sunglasses and talk to me. He couldn't even look me in the eye. I also asked Vishnu why Vipin was behaving this way. Yes, I removed and broke his sunglasses — that is true. But I did not engage in any act that could be called physical assault."

The actor also clarified that he and Tovino Thomas have been friends since the start of their careers and have promoted the release of each other's films. He called this new allegation an attempt to ruin their friendship.

According to The News Minute, the police have charged the actor under sections 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 126(2) (wrongful restraint), 296(b) (uttering obscene songs, ballads, or words in a public place), 351(2) (criminal intimidation), 324(4), and 324(5) (causing loss or damage) of Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS).