Supreme Court Protects Mohan Babu from Arrest in Journalist Assault Incident
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New Delhi, Jan 9 (NationPress) The Supreme Court, in an interim ruling delivered on Thursday, mandated that no coercive measures will be enforced against the esteemed Tollywood actor Manchu Mohan Babu, who is facing charges of attempt to murder for reportedly assaulting a television journalist at his residence on December 10.
Angered by a news channel reporter's inquiry regarding the ongoing conflict with his actor son Manchu Manoj, Mohan Babu, a former Member of Parliament, seized the microphone and struck the journalist while using offensive language.
While addressing Mohan Babu’s petition contesting the December 23 decision of the Telangana High Court, which had rejected his request for anticipatory bail, a bench consisting of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and P.K. Mishra instructed the Rachakonda police to refrain from any coercive actions against the petitioner.
During the proceedings, senior advocate Mukul Rohtagi, representing Mohan Babu, stated that the actor had expressed remorse for the incident and was willing to compensate the injured journalist. The Justice Dhulia-led bench advised the complainant’s attorney to ascertain whether he desired compensation.
The case is scheduled for a hearing in four weeks.
The former MP had approached the Telangana High Court for anticipatory bail on health grounds, citing heart and nerve-related ailments. However, his request for pre-arrest bail was denied.
According to M. Satyanarayana, a reporter from Telangana's TV9 news channel, the confrontation occurred when Manchu Manoj and several journalists entered the residence at his invitation. Mohan Babu confronted them aggressively, used abusive language, seized the microphone, and struck the journalist, resulting in a serious head injury.
The altercation transpired when Manchu Manoj breached the gate to enter the property following a dispute with the bouncers stationed there.
In the presence of Manoj and his private security, several journalists also entered the home. When the reporter posed a question to Mohan Babu regarding his conflict with his son, he became furious, grabbed the microphone, and attacked the reporter.
The journalist fell unconscious, and the bouncers expelled all journalists from the premises. The injured reporter was taken to a hospital in Shamshabad. Medical professionals reported that he sustained three fractures in the zygomatic bone (cheekbone) and requires plastic surgery.
