HYDERABAD: Four days after a stampede during the premiere show of ‘Pushpa 2: The Rule’ at Sandhya Theatre, the Chikkadpally police on Sunday announced the arrest of three individuals, including the theatre’s partner.
Police said Sandhya Theatre partner M Sandeep, manager M Nagaraju and in charge of lower balcony, G Vijay Chander, were arrested. These were the first arrests in the case.
During the stampede on Dec 4, 35-year-old Revathi became unconscious and succumbed later in hospital, while her nine-year-old son Sritej is still in a city hospital.
In the complaint lodged by Revathi’s husband, he blamed the theatre management, Allu Arjun and his security team for her death. Though police have named them as accused, investigators have not yet questioned the actor or his security detail. Police accused the theatre management and the movie cast of not providing prior information about their arrival.
‘No intimation from theatre management, actor’s team’
During the premiere show, a large crowd had gathered outside the theatre, anticipating arrival of Allu Arjun. Due to alleged poor crowd management by police and theatre management, the situation became chaotic once the actor arrived at the location.
His security personnel allegedly pushed the crowd and police also wielded their lathis to allow Allu Arjun’s car to enter the theatre.
At this juncture, a large number of people, including those without tickets, barged into the theatre premises. This led to a stampede inside the auditorium, where police resorted to lathicharge to bring the situation under control. Revathi and her son, who came to watch the movie, got caught in the melee and suffered asphyxia due to the huge crowd.
“There was no intimation from the theatre management or the actor’s team that they will be visiting the theatre. The theatre management did not make any additional provisions regarding security to manage the crowd nor was there any separate entry/exit for the actor’s team, even though the theatre had information about their arrival,” Chikkadpally police stated on Sunday.
