Assistant film director Manzoor Rasheed surrendered in a Hyderabad court and remanded in judicial custody on Tuesday, September 10, in a case of sexual assault. He was accused of sexually assaulting a woman background actor on the location of the Malayalam film Bro Daddy, directed by Prithviraj Sukumaran, on September 3, 2021.
Manzoor was arrested and remanded for 14 days after he surrendered at the Kukatpally court on Tuesday, September 10. He had been in hiding after both the Kukatpally court and the Telangana High Court denied him anticipatory bail. He is currently lodged in Kandi jail in Sangareddy district.
Gachibowli police Inspector S Anjaneyalu said that he has been booked under section 375 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code. “He surrendered in the court yesterday and has been remanded to judicial custody," the officer said. The police have reportedly said that they will oppose Manzoor's bail plea in court.
In an earlier conversation with TNM, the survivor had said that Manzoor sexually assaulted her when she was unconscious. He went to her room around 7 pm and told her that they could go meet the film’s chief associate and other crew members. “He poured some Sprite for me. After having the drink, I began to feel dizzy and breathless,” she said. When she was unconscious, he allegedly sexually assaulted her.
The very next day, he allegedly began blackmailing her using her nude images. “He used to call me on WhatsApp at midnight and constantly blackmail me,” she said. He allegedly threatened to release her photographs publicly, extorting money to the tune of Rs 6.5 lakh from her in the days that followed.
On September 13, 2023, two years after the crime, Daisy filed a complaint against Manzoor with the Gachibowli police station in Hyderabad. A case of rape was registered against him.
Even as the case dragged on, the survivor saw that Manzoor was still working as an assistant director for Empuraan, Prithviraj’s next directorial after Bro Daddy. Prithviraj told that he was made aware of the issue by his chief associate director in October 2023, just as the filming of Empuraan had begun. The actor-director said Manzoor was instructed to leave the set the very same day, and that he was told to “present himself before the police and face the due course of law.”