Pushpa 2 stampede: Police say 9-year-old victim 'brain dead' and on ventilator support

Police said that the child, Sri Tej was brain dead due to lack of breathing during the stampede and that it will take a long time to recover.

Hyderabad: Even as the Hyderabad police issued a show cause notice to the Sandhya 70MM movie theatre, where a stampede occurred on the night of December 4 during the screening of Pushpa 2, resulting in the death of a 35-year-old woman, her 9-year-old son, Sri Tej, is still fighting for his life at a corporate hospital.

Police said Sri Tej is brain dead, continues to rely on a ventilator, and it will take a very long time for him to recover. Doctors said that Teja remains in the PICU and requires mechanical ventilation. The stampede incident led to the arrest and subsequent bail release of actor Allu Arjun.

On the night of December 4, Mogudampalli Revathi and her son Sri Tej felt suffocated due to the large public influx at the theatre when Allu Arjun, along with his family, visited Sandhya Theatre to watch the movie. The on-duty police pulled them from the crowd from the lower balcony and performed CPR on them immediately.

The police immediately shifted them to a nearby hospital. The doctor of the said hospital has informed that Revathi was brought dead, and her son, Sri Tej, was advised to be shifted to another hospital for better treatment. Immediately the boy was shifted to KIM's Hospital, where he is now undergoing treatment.

On Tuesday, Hyderabad City Police Commissioner C V Anand and Telangana Government Health Secretary Dr Christina visited KIMS Hospital on behalf of the Telangana government to enquire about the health condition of Sri Tej.

Speaking after meeting the medical team, the commissioner said that Sri Tej was brain dead due to lack of breathing during the stampede and that it will take a long time to recover. The doctors informed him that they are treating him with ventilator support, and they anticipate a prolonged course of treatment. Dr Christina said that they are monitoring Sri Tej's health condition regularly and hope for a speedy recovery.

Doctors said that Tej's neurological condition has not been showing any signs of improvement, and he needs a prolonged course of treatment. To wean him off the ventilator, the doctors are reportedly planning a tracheostomy. They said it will take a while for the brain to develop the ability to analyze signals.

Allu Arjun, on his part, said that though he wanted to visit the boy, he is refraining due to the ongoing legal proceedings.

“I remain deeply concerned about young Sri Tej, who is under constant medical care after the unfortunate incident. Due to the ongoing legal proceedings, I have been advised not to visit him and his family at this time. My prayers remain with them, and I remain committed to taking responsibility for addressing the medical and family needs. I wish him a speedy recovery, and I look forward to meeting him and his family at the earliest," said Arjun in a social media post two days ago.

A day before the India-wide release of Pushpa 2, Revathi, along with her husband Bhaskar, son Sri Tej, and a daughter, went to the Sandhya 70 MM theatre to watch the premier show where the stampede took place. Bhaskar said that it was his son's wish to watch the premiere show, as he was a big fan of Allu Arjun ever since the kid watched Pushpa 1. Bhaskar said that neighbors used to call their son Pushpa due to the mannerisms he picked up after watching the first part of the movie.

It is learnt that Bhaskar recently underwent liver transplantation as his wife donated. He is still recovering and does not have a job at the moment.

Allu Arjun’s father, well-known Tollywood producer Allu Arvind, visited KIMS on Wednesday to see Sri Tej. After the visit, Arvind said that his family would fully support Tej in his recovery. He mentioned that he had obtained permission from the government before visiting Tej. Arvind also noted that, based on legal advice, Arjun did not accompany him due to an ongoing case.