Filmmaker Manish Gupta Booked for Stabbing Driver Over Pay Row

Filmmaker Manish Gupta was booked on Friday for allegedly injuring his driver with a kitchen knife following a dispute over the driver’s salary, a Mumbai police official said.

Knife Drama: Salary Clash Sparks Shocking Attack

The incident occurred on Thursday night at Manish Gupta’s residence in the Sagar Sanjog building, a Versova police official said. Gupta allegedly injured his driver of three years, Rajibul Islam Lashkar (32). Gupta has been booked under sections 118(2), 115(2), and 352 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for voluntarily causing grievous hurt with a dangerous weapon, intentional insult to provoke a breach of peace, and other offences. However, he has not yet been arrested, the official added.

Lashkar’s lawyer, Ali Kaashif Khan Deshmukh, has demanded the immediate arrest of Manish Gupta.

According to the FIR, Lashkar had worked for the filmmaker for three years, earning a monthly salary of ₹23,000. However, Lashkar claimed that he was never paid on time. On May 30, Gupta allegedly dismissed him without settling his outstanding dues. To recover his unpaid salary, Lashkar returned to work but still did not receive payment. This led to a verbal dispute between them on Friday night at Gupta’s residence in Versova. Lashkar alleges that during the argument, Gupta stabbed him with a kitchen knife.

Lashkar then rushed to the nearby Cooper Hospital for medical treatment and subsequently filed an FIR against the filmmaker at the Versova Police Station.

Behind the Scenes: Who Is Manish Gupta?

Manish Gupta is a screenwriter and director known for films like The Stoneman Murders and 420 IPC. His most recent directorial project was the 2023 legal drama One Friday Night, featuring Raveena Tandon and Milind Soman. Earlier in his career, Gupta worked with Ram Gopal Varma's team, penning screenplays for films such as D and Sarkar.

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