Hyderabad police detained three people in connection with the stampede on the premiere day of ‘Pushpa 2: The Rule’ at Sandhya Theatre on Sunday, December 8.
The detainees include the theatre owner M. Sandeep, senior manager M. Nagaraju, and head of security Gandhakam Vijay Chander.
The Stampede
The stampede situation occurred on December 4 and killed 35-year-old Revathi while leaving her eight-year-old son, Sritej, hospitalized in a critical condition.
Fans rushed into the lower balcony area after actor Allu Arjun arrived at the theatre accompanied by co-star Rashmika Mandanna and his wife, Allu Sneha Reddy.
Neither the team of Arjun nor the management of the theatre had given them any prior information about the visit of the actor, said the Chikkadpally police.
Though the theatre was aware of the situation, it could not arrange for proper security measures or crowd control. “The personal security team of the actor started pushing back the public, which in turn worsened the issue,” said ACP L. Ramesh Kumar.
A case has been registered under sections 105, 118(1), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Although the three accused have been sent to judicial custody, the police are still investigating the role of the actor in the whole episode. “We will seek legal opinion before taking further action,” said Inspector Raju Naik.
Allu Arjun Announces Compensation
After stampede deaths, Arjun announced compensation to the tune of ₹25 lakh to the victim’s family and also promised to pay for the boy’s medical bills.
At a press conference held on Saturday, he spoke about condoling with them, stating, “I will never be able to fill in the gap left by their loss but help them as much as possible.”
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