Allu Arjun arrested in Hyderabad over 'Pushpa 2' stampede

A few days ago, a woman had died and her 8-year-old son had been seriously injured in a stampede during a show of 'Pushpa 2: The Rule'.

Hyderabad: Hyderabad's Chikkadapally police on Friday took popular Tollywood actor and Pushpa fame Allu Arjun into custody in connection with the stampede at Sandhya Theatre last Wednesday during a premiere show of his recent release Pushpa 2: The Rule.

In the stampede, a 35-year-old woman died, and her 9-year-old son suffered serious injuries. Arjun's team had moved a lunch motion petition seeking an urgent hearing of the quash petition filed two days ago.

The incident took place at the iconic Sandhya Theatre in RTC X Cross Roads in Hyderabad late last Wednesday night.

Revathi, a 35-year-old woman, went to watch the movie with her husband and two children, and a large crowd of Arjun's fans were present. Allu Arjun had arrived at the theater to witness the mood and watch the movie with his fans, which led to a stampede-like situation as they wanted to have a glimpse of their favorite actor.

In the stampede, Revathi lost her life, and her son Sree Tej, who fell unconscious due to suffocation, was immediately shifted to a nearby hospital. A case has been booked against the management of Sandhya Theatre.

Police found that inadequate crowd control measures and mismanagement led to the stampede and booked Allu Arjun, along with his security personnel and the theatre management, under sections 105 nd 118 (1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act for negligence and failure to ensure public safety. Later, Arjun announced Rs 25 lakhs to the family of Revathi.

Two days ago police had taken three senior staff members of Sandhya Theatre into custody. Arjun had also moved a petition in the state high court two days ago seeking to quash the FIR registered against him. The petition was yet to be listed for hearing.

The countrywide release of Allu Arjun's Pushpa 2: The Rule in several languages has been a massive success, grossing over Rs 1,000 crore at the box office so far.

Arjun's fans have started gathering at Chikkadpally Police Station, where he was taken. Following the completion of some formalities, they shifted Arjun to Gandhi Hospital for medical tests. With the gathering of his fans in large numbers, police have beefed up the security at the police station and also Gandhi Hospital. Ace Tollywood producer Dil Raju and other film personalities have also reached Chikkadapally police station.

BRS working president K T Rama Rao condemned Arjun's arrest. “The arrest of national award-winning star Allu Arjun is the pinnacle of the insecurity of the rulers. I totally sympathise with the victims of the stampede, but who failed really? Treating Allu Arjun Garu as a common criminal is uncalled for, especially for something he isn’t directly responsible for. There is always space for respect and dignified conduct. I strongly condemn the high-handed behaviour of he government. Going by the same perverse logic, Revanth Reddy should be arrested for causing the death of two innocent people who died in Hyderabad because of the fear psychosis caused by Hydra,” KTR said in a social media post.