Tarannum, who so far evaded the media, today chose to give interviews to TV channels in which she denied she had links with bookies.
"Whatever money I have is hard earned," Tarannum told a new channel, even as Panscholi, who allegedly introduced the Sri Lankan spinner to Tarannum at 'Deepa bar' in suburban Andheri, denied this allegation.
"I do not deny that I took Muralitharan to Deepa Bar, but I did not introduce him to anyone there," Panscholi told TV channels. He said he did not act as middleman between Muralitharan or any other person during that visit.
Tarannum hit headlines after Income Tax officials raided her bungalow in Andheri and recovered Rs 22 lakh cash and property investment documents. The IT officials wondered if a bargirl could acquire so much wealth through legitimate sources and suspect her to be associated with the betting business.
The seizure of her mobilephone that had numbers of several bookies and some Sri Lankan cricket stars prompted Mumbai police to step in and initiate a probe in the case.
Yesterday, Mumbai crime branch officials said they had evidence to link Tarannum with bookies but said it was too premature to comment if she was a conduit in the cricket-bookies nexus.