Mahath 'assaulted' by Manoj Manchu; FIR filed

Actor Mahath has lodged a complaint with the Royapetta police alleging that Telugu hero Manoj Manchu (son of actor Mohan Babu) and three of his friends assaulted him at a party on Lloyds Road in the small hours of June 8 after the Filmfare Awards function.

In a statement, Mahath said he was at the party, which was attended by several others from the film fraternity. He was having a personal chat with a friend away from the crowd. Suddenly Manoj and his friends came and interrupted their conversation and started beating him up. Manoj used filthy language and also threatened to kill him. The incident took place around 4 a.m. and Mahath, after getting bashed up for seven minutes, phoned one of his friends who came to the spot and picked him up and took him to a hospital at Porur.

Mahath in his statement further stated, “After I was treated in the hospital, I lodged a complaint with the police and then filed an FIR. I am fearing for my life as he (Manoj) is very influential.”

Police have registered a case against Manoj and four others. When they tried to meet Manoj for questioning, his relatives told the police that he had left for Hyderabad. Police later received information from Hyderabad that Manoj had ‘escaped’ to Malaysia.

Preliminary investigations showed that Manoj and Taapsee, who are the lead pairs in a film produced by Lakshmi Manchu, have fallen in love with each other. Taapsee had earlier developed friendship with Mahath. It is suspected that her ditching Mahath and getting closer to Manoj was what led to the ugly incident.

Police sources told mediapersons that they are searching for Manoj and he will soon be arrested.