After a number of journalists accused former union minister of sexual assault during his stint as a journalist, his wife Mallika has finally spoken up to defend her husband.

Calling the women, particularly Pallavi Gogoi, whose Washington Post article on Friday, accused Akbaof rape, Mallika said that she had brought 'anguish and hurt to her family.'

"I have been silent all this while as a ‘me too’ campaign has been unleashed against my husband. However, the Washington Post article by Pallavi Gogoi alleging that she was raped by him forces me to step in with what I know to be true. Over 20 yrs ago, Pallavi Gogoi caused unhappiness and discord in our home. I learned of her and my husband’s involvement through her calls & her public display of affection in my presence. In her flaunting the relationship, she caused anguish & hurt to my entire family," she alleged.

She even lashed out at Tushita Patel, saying that neither she nor Gogoi looked 'like victims of sexual assault.' "At an Asian Age party at our home, crowded with young journalists, I have watched with mortification and pain as they danced close.  I had confronted my husband at the time and he decided to prioritize his family. Tushita Patel and Pallavi Gogoi were often at our home, happily drinking and dining with us. Neither carried the haunted look of victims of sexual assault. I don’t know Pallavi’s reasons for telling this lie but a lie it is," she claimed.

Earlier, Akbar rejected Gogoi's rape allegations, claiming they were in a consensual relationship.

Stating that he had read the Washington Post piece written by Gogoi, detailing false allegations of rape and violence against me, Akbar said, "I have had occasion to read this article and it has become necessary, at this point in time, to bring certain facts to light."

"The relationship gave rise to talk and would later cause strife in my home life as well. This consensual relationship ended, perhaps not on the best note," Akbar said in a statement to ANI.'