Hyderabad Police on Friday alleged that the organisers of Pushpa 2 screening failed to properly inform them about the possibility of large crowds at Sandhya Theatre on December 4, where a woman died in a stampede. They also claimed that the actor Allu Arjun’s actions triggered the fatal chaos.
Akshansh Yadav, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad Central Zone, stated that the organisers had merely submitted an application without meeting any officials. He maintained, however, that adequate security measures were in place at the theatre.
The senior police officer’s comments came as Hyderabad Police arrested actor Allu Arjun over the incident. While he was sent to judicial custody, he secured interim bail but remained in jail on Friday due to delays in the release of the bail order.
“ In specific cases where a heavy crowd is expected, or some popular personality is visiting, the organiser personally visits the police station / ACP / DCP office and briefs about the program depending upon which we provide the bandobust (security arrangement). In this case the organiser did not meet any officer and simply submitted the letter in the inward section,” DCP Yadav said.
He alleged that no specific details were provided to the police and stated that, despite this, the officials had arranged a “suitable bandobast” to manage the crowd outside the theatre.
Yadav further mentioned that Allu Arjun, upon his arrival at the theatre, began waving at the crowd, which triggered chaos. He claimed that the actor’s team was instructed to take him away from the venue, but they failed to comply with the directions.
“The crowd was well in control till the actor arrived. He came to the theatre, came out from the sun roof of his vehicle and started waving to the public gathered there. This gesture attracted a lot of public towards the theatre main gate. At the same time, his private security started pushing people to make way for his vehicle,” the officer said.
He added, “His team was intimated to take him back citing a large public gathering, but they didn’t act on it and Allu Arjun was there inside the theatre for more than two hours”.
“Therefore, it is clear that adequate police arrangement was in place, it was his actions which led to this unfortunate incident, in which a lady died and her son is still unconscious on the ventilator even after 9 days of the incident,” the DCP stressed.
The officer was responding to a letter from the theatre owners to the police, which have been circulating online, alleging a lack of police presence despite the request for arrangements.
He also dismissed the allegation that police personnel had misbehaved with Allu Arjun during his arrest, stating that it was untrue.
“When police reached his residence, he requested some time to change his clothes. He went inside his bedroom, police personnel waited outside and took him into custody when he came out. There was no use of force or any misbehaviour with him by any police personnel. He was given enough time to interact with his family & wife and he himself came out and entered the police vehicle,” Yadav said.
A 35-year-old woman died, and her eight-year-old son was hospitalised during a stampede at the Sandhya Theatre. On Friday, Allu Arjun was arrested over the incident and a local court remanded him to 14 days in judicial custody. Quickly after that, the High Court granted him interim bail.
However, the actor was not released on Friday due to the delay in releasing the bail order.
