Actor Allu Arjun.
Telugu actor Allu Arjun will be charged for the stampede that erupted outside a Hyderabad theatre and left one woman dead on Wednesday, after he arrived without prior intimation for the premiere show of his movie “Pushpa 2: The Rule”, police said on Thursday.
Besides the actor, the management of Sandhya Theatre will also be charged for not making any “additional provisions regarding security to manage the crowd”.
There was no immediate reaction either from Mr Arjun nor the theatre management till the time of filing this report.
In a statement, Hyderabad Police Commissioner CV Anand said “there was no intimation from the side of theatre management or actors team that they will be visiting the theatre…”
The top cop said there was no separate entry or exit for the actor and his team, even though the theatre management was aware of their arrival.
A 35-year-old woman died and her nine-year-son was hospitalised due to asphyxiation as a huge crowd jostled at the film theatre to catch a glimpse of Mr Arjun, who arrived with music director Devi Sri Prasad for the screening on Wednesday evening.
According to the police, Mr Arjun arrived at the theatre at around 9.30pm with his personal security. As hundreds of people thronged the premises to catch a glimpse of him, his security team started pushing the crowd, which further aggravated the situation.
The actor and his security team, along with the crowd, entered the lower balcony area of the theatre. “In this, one Revathi and her son felt suffocated… the police personnel pulled them out of the public… and performed CPR to her, son and immediately shifted to the nearby Durgabai Deshmukh Hospital. The doctor informed that she was dead and son was advised to be shifted to another hospital for better treatment,” the statement said.
The woman’s son, Teja, is believed to be in a critical condition and is currently undergoing treatment. The family, who resides in Dilsukhnagar, has demanded accountability from the threatre management, and sought a response from the actor on the incident. They have also demanded that Mr Arjun provide them with support.
Police said a case has been booked under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita on the basis of a complaint by the woman’s family. “Stringent action as per law will be taken against all the persons responsible for the chaotic situation inside the theatre leading to the death of a person and injury to others,” the top cop said.