Stampede at Sandhya theatre happened because of Allu Arjun: Hyderabad cops

Hyderabad : After the Telangana High Court granted Tollywood actor Allu Arjun an interim bail for a period of 4 weeks in the Sandhya theatre stampede case, the Hyderabad police broke silence and clarified many viral claims regarding the permission letter submitted by Sandhya theatre and alleged mismanagement at the residence of Allu Arjun during arrest on Friday.

The police pointed out that it was because of his (Allu Arjun) actions, that resulted in the death of Ms Revati-39-year-old woman from Dilshuknagar.

Clarification by the Police

Hyderabad police issued a clarification regarding the letter being circulating in media addressed by Sandhya Cine Enterprise 70 MM to ACP Chikkadpally requesting bandobust on December 4, and December 5, 2024 in connection with release of Pushpa 2- The Rule.

"We receive a lot of requests for bandobust citing visits by some political personalities, film celebrities, religious programs etc., However it is beyond our resources to provide bandobust for every event. In specific cases where heavy crowd is expected or some popular personality is visiting, the organizer personally visits the police station / ACP / DCP office and brief about the program depending upon which we provide the bandobust," said the Police in a statement.

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 Allu Arjun arrived. He came to the theatre, came out from the sun roof of his vehicle and started waving to the public gathered. 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. His team was intimated to take him back citing 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 bandobust 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 ventilator even after 9 days of the incident," the Police stated.

No police misbehaved with the actor

They also clarified that the police personnel misbehaving with Allu Arjun at the time of arrest at his residence is not true.

"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 misbehavior 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," said the Police.

Telangana CM reacts to Allu Arjun's arrest

In a private event held in New Delhi, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said, "No One is Above the Law", I have known Allu Arjun's family since his childhood. Why were Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt arrested in India? The Constitution of India is the same for all. We have given the benefit show permission for Pushpa-2 and increased the ticket price to Rs 1,300 from Rs 300. Allu Arjun came to the theater without proper arrangements. Did he (Allu Arjun) fight for the nation at India- Pakistan border? He invested money and in return he made money.

A woman died, and her son is battling with life in the hospital after the incident. A criminal case has been booked and as many as 10 people have already been arrested in connection with the incident. The police performed their duties with the utmost responsibility, even though the actor's family members belong to the Congress Party."