Filmmaker Manish Gupta Booked For Allegedly Stabbing Driver With Knife Over Salary Dispute

Filmmaker Manish Gupta Booked For Allegedly Stabbing Driver With Knife Over Salary Dispute

(Source: IMDB)

New Delhi: Filmmaker Manish Gupta, known for directing films such as Rahasya and The Stoneman Murders, has been booked by the Versova Police for allegedly stabbing his driver with a kitchen knife after an argument over unpaid salary.

According to a report by Free Press Journal, the Versova Police have registered an FIR against the director and producer in connection with the incident.

As per the FIR, the victim, Mohammad Lashkar, had worked with Gupta for the past three years and earned a monthly salary of ₹23,000. Lashkar alleged that Gupta frequently delayed salary payments, leading to repeated arguments between them.

The situation reportedly escalated when Gupta failed to pay Lashkar’s salary for the previous month and subsequently terminated his employment on May 30.

The report states that on June 3, when Lashkar contacted Gupta to ask for his pending salary, the filmmaker allegedly told him he would be paid only if he rejoined work. When Lashkar returned to duty the following day, the dues were still not cleared.

On June 5, around 8:30 PM, while both were at Gupta's office in Versova, Lashkar brought up the issue again, which led to a verbal argument. Enraged, Gupta allegedly stabbed Lashkar on the right side of his torso with a kitchen knife.

The incident reportedly took place at Gupta’s residence in the Sagar Sanjog building, according to a Versova police station official.

Following the attack, Lashkar managed to escape, alerted the watchman and a nearby driver, and was rushed to Cooper Hospital in Vile Parle West. After receiving medical treatment, a complaint was filed against Gupta at the Versova police station.

Gupta has been booked under sections 118(2), 115(2), and 352 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, for voluntarily causing grievous hurt by a dangerous weapon, intentional insult to provoke breach of peace, and other related offences. However, no arrest has been made as the case is currently under investigation.

Gupta’s most recent work was his directorial venture One Friday Night, featuring Raveena Tandon and Milind Soman. He previously worked as a screenwriter in Ram Gopal Varma’s team, contributing to films such as D and Sarkar.