Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 9 : Director Manish Gupta, who has been booked by Versova police for allegedly attacking his driver, has denied all the allegations and noted that these are all "false accusations".
Speaking to ANI, he said, "Ye bilkul hi jhutha aarop hai (This is a false accusation)... a hundred per cent false accusation. There was no fight between that driver and me, Rajebul Lashkar. Usne police mein jaaake jhuthi statement di hai (He went to the police and gave a false statement). And on that basis, he filed an FIR. He did this to put my reputation at risk. So that I come under pressure and he can extort more money from me."
He also opened up on the accusation that he has not paid salary to his driver's timely, "This accusation is 100% false. I will show you my bank statement for the past 3 years. You will see that every month I have paid him his entire salary on time. So, the first sentence in the FIR is false that I never paid him salary on time, that's why he fought with me. His first sentence is false. The first false sentence in his statement, in the FIR, is the proof that his entire allegation is false. It is proof that he is lying. You can see my bank statement. ...There is a detail of his salary every month for the past 3 years."
Gupta also shared that he has given his driver regular salary so there was no argument or fight between them, "As I said, he has received his salary on time every month for the past 3 years. You can see my bank statement. The driver's name, amount, and date are clearly shown in this. He has received his salary on time every month for the past 3 years. On top of that, he has been given an advance. I have given him more advance than salary many times. The person who has given him a salary on time every month for the past 3 years, he(driver) has given a statement to file an FIR that he has never paid his salary on time. That's why he has fought with me. This is a complete lie. When this man starts his statement with a false sentence, you can understand that the whole statement is a lie. He has a malafide intention. Uska motive hai paise aethna..This is an extortion racket and nothing else. So he made this salary just a topic. He wanted to make a topic and show that there was a fight. That's why he has raised this issue of salary. "
The director also shared that he has been contributing to the police investigation. "I have submitted my statement to the police. I will show you a copy of the statement. I have given a statement. They stamped it, signed it and gave me an acknowledgement. And in the statement, I said everything... I told them that this man has given you a false statement. And on the basis of a false statement, he has filed an FIR. That is, it is 100% a lie."
"There will be no compromise at all. The trend of extortion racket is very dangerous for our country, and especially for Bollywood personalities. Because we are a soft target, we have to stop these extortionists...So we are taking legal action. And we are initiating criminal proceedings against this man...Also, I want to add that he has a criminal background..," he added.
Gupta has been booked under sections 118(2), 115(2) and 352 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.