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Allu Arjun today appeared for questioning in the case of death of a woman during the stampede during the screening of Pushpa 2 in Hyderabad. He was earlier arrested and granted bail.
Allu Arjun greets fans after being released from jail (Photo: PTI)
Top Telugu actor Allu Arjun was questioned for four hours by Hyderabad’s Chikkadpally police on Tuesday in connection with the death of a woman in the stampede during the screening of ‘Pushpa 2’ in the city on December 4. The police may take the actor to Sandhya Theatre, where the stampede took place.
Meanwhile, the police also arrested Allu Arjun’s bouncer, Anthony, as he was identified as the one who organized all the other bouncers at Sandhya Theatre.
Anthony was also accused of pushing Allu Arjun’s fans and would be taken to the stomping grounds to recreate the scene.
During the interrogation of the actor, his father Allu Aravind and his father-in-law Kancharla Chandrashekhar were present at the police station.
Allu Arjun interrogated in Pushpa 2 stampede case
According to sources, the police questioning was based on the claims made by Allu Arjun during the press conference on December 21.
He was also asked whether he was aware of the woman’s death and whether Sandhya Theater officials had told him that his entry into the theater was not permitted.
The police also reportedly argued with the actor over the CCTV video released by the Hyderabad Police Commissioner, which detailed the sequence of events during the stampede.
Earlier, Allu Arjun had claimed that no one from the police team contacted him. However, the police claimed that the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) spoke to the actor after several attempts to reach the actor through Sandhya theater management and his personal security team failed.
Allu Arjun claimed that he left the theater early. However, the police said that he came out only at 12.05 am after the stampede broke out.
Meanwhile, the actor’s legal team reached Sandhya Theater in Hyderabad, where the stampede incident took place.
#Watch Telangana: Actor Allu Arjun’s legal team reached Sandhya Theater at RTC X Roads, Hyderabad, where the stampede took place during the premiere show of ‘Pushpa 2’. Allu Arjun is appearing before the Hyderabad Police at Chikkadpally Police Station in this case… pic.twitter.com/YjGjGzzOMw
– ANI (@ANI) 24 December 2024
As the actor was being examined, white sheets were placed at the entrance of his residence in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad.
#Watch Hyderabad, Telangana: White sheets were put up at the entrance of actor Allu Arjun’s residence in Jubilee Hills. Allu Arjun is currently appearing before the Hyderabad Police at Chikkadpally Police Station in connection with the Sandhya Theater incident. pic.twitter.com/sPc3kVqdaK
– ANI (@ANI) 24 December 2024
Stampede at Pushpa 2 screening: Videos surfaced
While Allu Arjun was being interrogated, two videos of the stampede incident were being shared widely on social media.
A video showed that a large number of people were running while the screening of the film was going on.
In another video, a clash is seen between the organizers of the screening and the general public.
Summons to Allu Arjun
On Monday, a summons notice was issued to the actor, asking him to appear before the police at 11 am on Tuesday.
The notice comes a day after Police Commissioner CV Anand released a video showing the sequence of events at the theatre.
What did Allu Arjun say during his press conference?
During a press conference on Saturday, Allu Arjun said that the incident of death of a woman and injury to her son during the screening of Pushpa 2 was a complete accident and denied the allegations made by Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. .
Hours after Reddy criticized the actor for holding a roadshow without mentioning anyone and waving to the crowd in the theater, the Pushpa 2 star refuted the allegations and said it was not a procession or a roadshow.
He stressed that he was not personally against any department or political leader in the government.
“There is a lot of misinformation out there that I behaved (irresponsibly) in a certain way,” he said. These allegations are wrong. This is insulting and character assassination. There’s a lot of misinformation going on, a lot of false allegations, especially character assassination,” he told reporters at a hastily arranged news conference.
He said that he has built his career and image with 20 years of hard work and it feels very sad when it is being damaged.
Responding to the allegation that there was no permission to enter the theatre, the actor said that this is not true and in fact, the police were clearing the way for him and he reached the venue under their instructions.
“If there was no permission they would have asked us to return and I am a law abiding citizen. I would have followed him. No such information was given to me. I was following his guidance and it was not a road show. No procession took place. It was crowded a few meters away from the theatre,” he said.
On the allegation that he did not leave the cinema hall even after the news of the woman’s death, due to which the police had to forcibly throw him out, Allu Arjun said that no policeman approached him to vacate the space in the theater, but One of his associates, to whom he immediately obeyed.
“I am not inhuman,” he said.
Specifically on the road show allegations, he said that it is a tradition that when there is a crowd, any celebrity comes out and waves at the people. Otherwise it can be considered arrogance.
“It is a false allegation that there was a road show and procession. This was not a procession. This was not a road show. I was just a few meters away from the theatre. My car has just stopped,” he said.
Stampede at the screening of Pushpa 2
A 35-year-old woman was killed and her eight-year-old son was injured during a stampede-like situation at Sandhya Theater in Hyderabad on December 4, when thousands of fans gathered to catch a glimpse of the actor during the premiere. Blockbuster Pushpa 2.
Following the incident, the city police registered a case under various sections of the Indian Justice Code (BNS) against Allu Arjun, his security team and the theater management at Chikkadappally police station based on a complaint by the deceased woman’s family.
Allu Arjun, named as accused number 11 in the case, was arrested by the city police on December 13 in connection with the woman’s death.
The Telangana High Court granted him four weeks’ interim bail the same day and he was released from jail here on the morning of December 14.
Allu Arjun case: Political reactions
Commenting on the summoning of Allu Arjun, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla told reporters today, “The Congress party’s Telangana government is working with an emergency mindset. The person who pelted stones at Allu Arjun’s house turned out to be a close aide of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and a member of the Kodangal Youth Congress.
“This makes it clear that the Congress party is suffering from vendetta politics. They are probably also going to the Supreme Court to get the interim bail (of Allu Arjun) cancelled. They are taking revenge from Allu Arjun for not campaigning for Congress.”
Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLA Harish Rao also said, “Today there are many issues in Telangana including farmers and minorities but Chief Minister Revanth does not get time for them. Instead, he is taking aim at Allu Arjun personally. If elections are held today, the deposits of Congress candidates will also be confiscated. “Congress has not fulfilled any of the promises made during the election campaign.”
Later, Congress MLA Bhupathi Reddy in a controversial statement threatened to boycott Allu Arjun’s films if he spoke against Chief Minister Revanth Reddy.
“Allu Aravind, Allu Arjun be careful, Pushpa is the one Useless The (useless) film, does it have any message for society? I challenge you to speak against the Chief Minister, if you ever speak against him, you are a street artist of Andhra Pradesh, so behave properly. Just do your work and go.”
He said, “Your house was attacked, but now, I am challenging you that if you utter even a word against the Chief Minister, I will ensure that not a single film of yours is played in the state.”
Complaint over ‘pee’ scene of Pushpa 2
A separate complaint was filed on Sunday against Allu Arjun and ‘Pushpa 2: The Rule’ producer and director Sukumar in connection with a scene from the film. Congress leader and Telangana MLC Thenamar Mallanna had filed a complaint demanding strict action against the film director, actor Allu Arjun and the production team.
Reacting to the developments, Mallanna, speaking exclusively to CNN-News18, said, “Such scenes will create panic in the minds of the audience or the public. I would request the producers to control such scenes.”
“The swimming pool scene is deliberately insulting the police officers. I have filed a complaint against the entire team regarding this matter and have requested the police to take action against them. I also requested them to remove this scene from the film.”
