Hotel Manohar Chairman Booked for Sexual Harassment in Begumpet

The Begumpet police have registered a case against Hotel Manohar chairman Dontanselti Venkat Manohar, 76, following allegations of sexual harassment lodged by a woman employee at the hotel office. The complainant formally approached the police on August 20.

According to the woman's complaint, she joined Hotel Manohar in December 2023. She stated that shortly after she began working there, Manohar began making inappropriate and sexual remarks regarding her body. When she requested a salary increment, he allegedly demanded sexual favours in return.

The complainant stated that she intended to leave her job due to the harassment, but Manohar allegedly threatened to withhold her salary if she left without formally resigning. Citing her ongoing financial commitments, including monthly EMI payments, she alleged that Manohar took advantage of her vulnerable situation and attempted to sexually assault her. She also alleged that he regularly played obscene videos in her presence while she was working at the office.

The incident took another turn when Hotel Manohar's HR in-charge, Rama Murthy V, lodged a separate complaint against the woman on August 19, a day prior to her filing the harassment report. In his complaint, Rama Murthy alleged that the employee had stolen Rs 1 lakh from a bag kept in the chairman's office. He further claimed that when questioned regarding the missing cash, she made false and baseless allegations of sexual harassment against the chairman.

In response to the theft allegation, the woman stated that chairman DV Manohar, HR employee Rama Murthy, and IT employee Prakash forcibly held her hand, attempted to take away her laptop, and shouted at her to leave the job. She questioned how she could have taken any money from the chairman's office while they were present.

Following her formal complaint, the Begumpet police booked Manohar under Sections 74, 78, 79, 351(2), and 352 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and initiated an investigation.

Simultaneously, based on the complaint filed by the hotel's HR in-charge regarding the alleged theft, Begumpet police registered a separate case under Section 306 of the BNS. Police officials confirmed that investigations into both cross-complaints are currently underway.