Thiruvananthapuram: Four days after a popular Malayalam movie actress was waylaid and attacked by a gang in Kochi, K.B. Ganesh Kumar, an actor, politician and former state minister has said that there is a “strong undercurrent of gangster operations” in the Malayalam film world.

Ganesh Kumar’s statement comes even as the state police is struggling to arrest ‘Pulsar’ Suni, the main accused in the attack on the actress. The incident happened on Friday night when she was returning to Kochi after a shoot at Thrissur.

In a key development on Tuesday, the Kerala High Court postponed to March 3 the hearing in Suni’s request for an anticipatory bail in the case. Two others, V.P. Bijish and Manikantan had also filed for an anticipatory bail along with Suni.

Ganesh Kumar said criminals had a strong presence in the film world and in the real estate sector in Kochi.

“There are many things in the film world that cannot be said in public. Such bitter experiences like the one faced by the actress last week, have happened before,” Ganesh Kumar said.

He said he would convey these to the chief minister, adding the film sector in Kochi was now taking on the style of the Bollywood of the past, when the underworld controlled the movie industry.

Police have arrested a few suspects in connection with the assault on the actress, but the key accused in the incident, Suni appears to have given the slip to the police and fled the state.

Information received by police through interrogation of one of his accomplices points to the likelihood of Suni having already moved to Tamil Nadu and perhaps having moved to another destination from there.

Following the attack on the actress, there have been several reports indicating the close links between some of the film fraternity and underworld gangs.

Some film industry players are believed to be using gangsters to ensure that there are no troubles created by local residents at shooting locations.

Some reports say, over time, some film personalities got close to such gangsters and began using them for their personal requirements, too.