Hyderabad: A prominent Telugu film director, G Ashok Babu, has been booked by Cyberabad Economic Offences Wing (EOW) for allegedly cheating a man out of Rs 3.5 crore by promising to launch his son as a hero.

According to local reports, the complainant, Hanumantha Rao, has alleged that the director collected the money in several instalments by promising to make his son a hero. However, the launch did not materialise, and Ashok did not return the money despite repeated requests.

Ashok was called in for questioning on Friday, July 10. Police are currently examining the money trail.

Ashok Babu made his directorial debut in 2007 with the film Ushodayam which won him the Nandi Award for Best Children’s Film Director. He is popularly known for directing Telugu films Pilla Zamindar and Bhagamathi.