Veteran actor Manchu Mohan Babu has been summoned by the Rachakonda Police Commissioner for assaulting TV9 reporter Ranjith Kumar on Tuesday, December 11. The actor was asked to appear before the Commissioner at 10.30 am on Wednesday.
Ranjith was among the many reporters covering the ongoing drama between Mohanbabu and his younger son Manchu Manoj, over their farmhouse in Jalpally near Shamshabad in the outskirts of Hyderabad.
Mohan Babu, a Padma Shri recipient, has acted in over 200 Telugu films. He acted in other languages too. Besides being an actor and producer, he is also an educationist, running Mohan Babu University.
For the past few days, the property dispute turned into a spectacle with Manoj initially claiming that he was attacked. A medico-legal record stated that he sustained injuries to his neck, thigh and abdomen. Providing enough fodder for the media, Manoj dramatically walked out of the private hospital in Banjara Hills wearing a neck brace on December 8. He subsequently filed a complaint with the Pahadishareef police claiming that he was attacked by nearly 10 persons (private security hired by Mohan Babu).
Reports said Manoj who acted in films like Raju Bhai, Vedam etc, was denied entry into the disputed farmhouse. Earlier too, Manoj had claimed that he was attacked by his brother Manchu Vishnu, the president of Movie Artists’ Association (MAA). Vishnu is also the pro-chancellor of Mohan Babu University.
The sibling rivalry between Manoj and Vishnu
Mohan Babu has three children—Manchu Vishnu, Manchu Lakshmi Prasanna and Manchu Manoj. Vishnu and Lakshmi are from his first wife, Vidya Devi. After her passing the veteran actor was married to Vidya Devi’s younger sister, Nirmala Devi. Manoj is the son of Mohan Babu and Nirmala Devi.
Manoj, the youngest sibling of the Manchu family, made his debut as a lead actor in 2004 with Donga Dongadi, the Tamil remake of Dhanush’s Thiruda Thirudi. His acting career took a setback after a series of unsuccessful films. The actor is now planning to make a comeback with the remake of Tamil hit film Garudan.
Manoj got married to Bhuma Monika Reddy recently. It is rumored that the marriage was not approved by the Manchu family, for which he was sidelined.
According to Mohan Babu, Manoj and his wife Monika were intending to illegally occupy the farmhouse. In his complaint to the police on December 9, he accused Manoj of creating a disturbance at the house along with some “anti-social elements”. He alleged that the men employed by Manoj forcibly trespassed into his residence, threatened his staff and evicted them from the property.
“I fear for my safety, my valuables, and my property. I have been informed that these individuals are waiting for me to return to my house with the intent to harm me and instill fear, compelling me to abandon my residence permanently. All those individuals are anti-social elements and are causing fear and threat to life to those who are at my home, including me.” Mohan Babu said in his complaint.
Manoj issued a statement saying that the conflict with brother Vishnu escalated after his public support to Mohan Babu University students and local business who are allegedly being exploited by Vishnu and his associate Vinay Maheshwari. “I have substantial evidence of financial irregularities and exploitation,” he claimed.
Amid the intense drama, on December 8, a voice note allegedly belonging to Mohan Babu went viral, where the senior actor is heard saying that he raised Manoj with more love and affection than the other two children.
With the feud intensifying, Vishnu who was abroad, returned to India recently.
Meanwhile, Mohan Babu who has often courted controversies, got himself admitted in a hospital ahead of his visit to the Rachakonda Commissioner. In the ongoing family drama, Lakshmi is conspicuously absent.