On December 13, Allu Arjun was arrested in connection with the stampede at Sandhya Theatre in Hyderabad. The stampede led to a 35-year-old woman's death. A large crowd was gathered at the theatre on December 4, 2024, to see the actor for Pushpa 2: The Rule's special screening. The actor has now been released on bail granted by the Telangana High Court.
Yesterday, a letter went viral, which shows that the Pushpa 2 team had asked the cops for security at the Sandhya theatre on December 4. Now, a press release is being shared by Deputy Commissioner of Police, Central Zone, Hyderabad City, clearing their stand on the matter. The Hyderabad cops mention that they get a lot of requests for bandobast whenever a politician or celebrity visits. But it is beyond their resources to provide bandobast for every event.
In their press release, the police mentioned that if a heavy crowd is expected when a popular personality is visiting, the organiser has to personally visit the police station or ACP/DCP office. They have to brief the cops about the program, which will help them provide the bandobast. "In this case, the organizer did not meet any officer and simply submitted the letter in the inward section. No details were made available to the police despite this we arranged suitable bandobust for crowd management outside the theatre. The crowd was well in control till the actor arrived," the police team said.
Further in this entertainment news, the Hyderabad police cited the reason they believe led to the stampede. The Hyderabad cops said, "He came to the theatre, came out from the sunroof of his vehicle and started waving to the public gathered there. This gesture attracted a lot of the public towards the theatre's main gate. At the same time, his private security started pushing people to make way for his vehicle. 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 bandobast 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 a ventilator even after 9 days of the incident."
When Allu Arjun was arrested, there were claims that he was expressing discomfort. To this, the police clarified that they, the police personnel, didn't misbehave with the Pushpa 2 star. When he requested to change clothes and went to the bedroom, the cops were waiting for him to exit and took him to the custody only when he stepped 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 and wife and he himself came out and entered the police vehicle," the police said.
