Masthan Sai tried to kill Lavanya multiple times, say police
HYDERABAD: Ravi Bavaji Masthan Rao, alias Masthan Sai, who was found in possession of explicit videos of women, had attempted several times to kill actress Lavanya but failed after she obtained a hard disc containing the videos.
According to the remand report, Masthan Sai hosted a party where he secretly recorded videos of Lavanya while she was changing clothes. In November 2022, he invited her to another party, made her consume liquor and recorded her nude videos on his laptop.
One day, Lavanya accessed his iPad without his knowledge, found the videos, recorded them on her phone and informed actor Raj Tarun, who was staying with her at the time. “Raj Tarun spoke to both of them and forced Masthan Sai to delete the videos from his iPad as well as those recorded on Lavanya’s phone. However, unbeknownst to them, he had already saved copies on another hard drive,” the remand report stated.
In March 2023, with the intent of sexually assaulting Lavanya, Masthan Sai invited her to Guntur under the pretext of attending his sister’s wedding. “She checked into a lodge within the Pattabhipuram police station limits and was alone. After the wedding, he went to her room and attempted to sexually assault her. However, Lavanya managed to escape and filed a case at Pattabhipuram police station, leading to charges of rape and attempted murder against him,” the report further stated.
The accused later went to Lavanya’s parents’ house in Patancheru and threatened her. In June 2024, Lavanya allegedly threatened Swathi, Masthan Sai’s girlfriend, stating that she would release their personal videos on social media. Following this, Swathi filed a complaint against Lavanya at Narsingi police station.
In November 2024, Lavanya went to Masthan Sai’s house when he was not home and took the hard disc. The device contained explicit videos of multiple women, including Lavanya, as well as several nude video calls involving him. Realising that Lavanya possessing the hard disc posed a serious threat to him, Masthan Sai decided to kill her to retrieve it. However, his attempts were unsuccessful.
On January 30 this year, he contacted Lavanya over the phone and went to Pavani Boulevard in Kokapet, where she resided. “At Villa No. 13, he confronted Lavanya, demanding that she return the hard disc and withdraw all cases against him. When she refused, he grabbed her by the throat and attempted to choke her. However, she managed to escape with the help of her younger brother and their maid and ran out with the hard disc,” the remand report stated.
Masthan Sai stayed near her house, believing she would return. On February 2, while he was present at her residence, Narsingi police arrived, took him into custody and interrogated him. Upon his confession, the police searched his handbag and found a MacBook Air, a SanDisk 128 GB pen drive, a SanDisk 1 TB hard disc, a Z Fold Samsung Android phone and another Samsung Android phone. The seized items have been sent for forensic examination. Initially, a case against the accused was registered under BNS sections, but the police have included the NDPS Act as well.