Sasa Mirkovic Says He Survived an Ambush, Points at Pop
The owner of Hype TV detailed an attack he says happened on his way back from the Hype Stars finale and blamed Velibor Popovic Pop, who rejects the accusation.
- Sasa Mirkovic says masked, armed men intercepted him overnight between Sunday and Monday as he returned from the Hype Stars finale.
- He says three of them, himself, his driver and a bodyguard, were in the car and managed to escape the attack.
- He reported the case to the criminal police, which is now working to clear it up.
- Mirkovic suspects Velibor Popovic Pop, who says he refuses to take part in what he calls a circus.
Hype TV owner Sasa Mirkovic said on June 29 that he survived an ambush as he was returning from the finale of the Hype Stars contest, overnight between Sunday and Monday. In a statement to the media, he said masked, armed men cut off his route and that he has reported his suspicion to the police.
Mirkovic says he was not alone in the car. With him, he says, were his driver and a member of his security detail. By his account, the situation could have ended tragically for all three of them. As he tells it, a man with a balaclava and a gun ran out of the dark, and they pulled away thanks to the driver’s reaction.
What moves this story straight from the incident column into the scandal column is the name Mirkovic points to. The Hype owner openly said that, in his opinion, the ambush was set up by entertainment manager Velibor Popovic, better known as Pop. He stressed that he gave a statement to the criminal police department, which is now working to clear up the case.
What does the accused, Pop, say?
Velibor Popovic Pop responded soon after Mirkovic’s remarks and rejected the accusations. He said he does not want to take part in what he called a circus and has no intention of being part of, as he put it, film scenarios. His message was short and in the tone of a man who refuses to get drawn into a public exchange through the media.
The two men have not been on bad terms only since yesterday. Their conflict escalated publicly earlier, so today’s accusation lands on already heated ground. That is exactly why the news spread across social networks so quickly. The audience that follows the entertainment scene knows the players well and knows how tense their relationship is.
For now we have two versions that do not match. One side speaks of an attempted attack and suspicion of a well-known name. The other side rejects everything and refuses to enter the story. Between those two versions stands the police, the only party that can establish what actually happened that night.
Why was the case reported to the police?
Mirkovic stressed that he did not stop at statements for the public but formally reported the case. That means the burden of proof now sits not with the media but with the competent authorities. The criminal police are working to clear it up, and until the investigation is finished, everything stays at the level of one side’s claims and the other’s denial.
In situations like this, it is important to separate what was said from what was proven. Mirkovic lays out his version and his suspicion. Pop rejects that suspicion. Neither of those two statements, on its own, is a verdict. A verdict, if it comes, is delivered by institutions, not by posts and press conferences.
It remains to be seen how the case will develop and whether the investigation will confirm or refute Mirkovic’s version. Until then, one thing is certain: public attention is here, and it will not fade quickly. So I ask you, do you believe the full truth about that night will ever come out?
