He has right to life and liberty: Telangana HC grants bail to Pushpa 2 actor Allu Arjun

The Telangana High Court has granted bail to Allu Arjun. The court remarked that he has every right to life and liberty. The Telugu superstar and whose movie Pushpa 2 is smashing all box office records was arrested by the Hyderabad police over the tragic stampede at Sandhya Theatre that took place during the premiere of his movie Pushpa 2 on the 4th of December.

The pandemonium claimed the life M Revathi, the 39 year old woman and left her nine-year-old son critically injured.

The Chikkadpally police filed a case against the theatre management, the actor, and his security team. According to Deputy Commissioner of Police Akshansh Yadav, the FIR includes charges under sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 118(1) r/w 3(5) (voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt) following a complaint by the victim’s family. Akshansh Yadav assured that stringent action would be taken against those responsible for the chaos.

Allu Arjun was taken into custody from his residence by a team comprising the Hyderabad Police Commissioner’s Task Force and Chikkadpally officers. He is set to be presented before a magistrate later in the day. Meanwhile, Sandhya Theatre’s owner and two employees have also been arrested.

Initial investigations revealed that the theatre management failed to inform the police about the actors’ arrival, leading to a lack of security arrangements. The situation escalated around 9:30 pm when Arjun arrived with his security team. As fans surged toward him, the security team reportedly pushed the crowd, worsening the chaos. Revathi and her son were caught in the melee and suffered suffocation. Despite police efforts to rescue them and administer CPR, Revathi succumbed, while her son remains critical.

The SHO earlier stated, “The theatre management did not make any additional provisions regarding security to manage the crowd. There was no separate entry or exit for the actors’ team though the theatre management had information about their arrival. Around 9:30 pm, actor Allu Arjun came to the theatre with his personal security and all the people gathered there tried to enter with him. His personal security team started pushing the public, which further aggravated the situation as there was already a huge gathering. Taking advantage of this situation, along with the actor and his security team, a large number of people entered the lower balcony area,”

A section of netizens have raised questions over the arrest of the Telugu superstar asking whether it is the actor/actresses responsibility to manage the crowd. There is also another section, who are terming the incident as nothing but a PR stunt.