Pinto Deepak (THE TIMES OF INDIA; December 23, 2024)

Hyderabad: City police commissioner C V Anand on Sunday issued a stern warning to bouncers against misbehaving with police personnel and pushing the public away, stating that the VIPs they accompanied would be held accountable for their actions. “Any misconduct or disturbance to the public or police will be dealt with strictly,” he said speaking about the recent stampede at the Sandhya Theatre.

While he refused to comment on allegations that actor Allu Arjun's team and the production house silenced the family of the victim, who died in the stampede, he urged the public to form their own judgment.

“I don't have anything more to say. You have seen it yourself. Now you decide who is correct," said Anand while declining to divulge any further information. On approaching the Supreme Court to challenge actor's bail, he said details will be shared soon.

Ramesh Kumar, assistant commissioner of police, Chikkadpally who was present at the venue, gave a blow-by-blow account of the evening's incidents.

“We not only told him about the fatality but also assured him to clear the road outside for him to leave as he was a celebrity. Even then he refused to leave,” said the ACP who was the first to go to the upper balcony to alert the actor about the stampede, along with B Raju Naik, SHO of Chikkadpally.

But the cops were, allegedly, stopped by Allu Arjun's manager, Santosh, and another person. “They told us that they would inform the actor about the incident. When I told this to my DCP, he asked me to go straight to Allu Arjun and explain the situation,” added Ramesh.

As the area where Allu Arjun was sitting was heavily crowded, Ramesh said he pushed through the crowd to reach the actor and personally briefed him about the grave situation unfolding outside.

“He still refused to leave…We clearly told him that the situation might get out of hand, but he still didn't listen. It was only after the DCP stormed inside and gave him a deadline of 15 minutes, did he budget from there," he said.

Claiming that mayhem had set in from at least two hours before the actor's arrival at the theatre, SHO Naik said some staff of the theater – including a man named Nagaraju – were private to this.

“The crowd was out of control. "Because we did not have the contact details of the actor, we told the theater management to advise him against coming there," said Naik, breaking down in the middle of the press meet.

“I somehow managed to escape death and am alive today. But for the past 15 days, the fact that one woman died in my hands, and we could not save her has been haunting me. I pray for the soul and speedy recovery of her boy,” the teary-eyed SHO added.

In the stampede on December 4 in Sandhya Theater at RTC Crossroads, Revathi (39) had died due to asphyxiation. Her minor son, who was severely injured, continues to be critical.

The video released by cops shows Arjun kicking off a rally from Musheerabad Metro station waving into the crowd. It then shows his father-in-law with other family members driving into the theater in one car. His son came in a separate car.

The footage also pinpoints the time when Revathi and son got separated from her husband and daughter. It then shows the events that followed thereafter, including the woman and son being carried out and police trying to revive them.

Commissioner Anand said the footage was sourced from 10,000 cameras set up at different locations.

What happened on Dec 4 according to the cops
9.10 pm | M Revathi along with her husband and two children arrived at Sandhya theater in RTC X Roads, for the premiere of Pushpa 2 – The Rule.
9.30 pm | Allu Arjun, after crossing Musheerabad metro station, kicked off a rally by waving into the crowd, which had already become unruly.
9.40 pm | The actor and his family entered the theater in different cars. By this time, the crowd surged and the situation outside escalated significantly.
11.30 pm | Cops attempted to reach Arjun, informing him of the fatality that occurred outside. However, the actor insisted on watching the entire film.
11.45 pm | DCP (central zone), ACP Chikkadpally & SHO Chikkadpally approached Allu Arjun & asked him to leave due to the emergency outside.
12.10 am | The actor and his family members were escorted out of the theater by the police. He waved into the crowd again outside the theatre.
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Pinto Deepak (THE TIMES OF INDIA; December 25, 2024)

Hyderabad: Actor Allu Arjun was questioned at Chikkadpally police station for just over three hours on Tuesday regarding the December 4 stampede at Sandhya Theater in which a 39-year-old mother of two died while her nine-year-old son was critically injured. The victim and her child were there for the premiere of Arjun's new film Pushpa 2 – The Rule.

The actor, who is out on bail in the case, faced 20 questions based on the findings of the investigation so far, the remand report, and other evidence gathered over the past three weeks, sources said.

Arjun was asked if he knew that police had denied the theater permission to have him at the premiere and whether he acknowledged that a life was lost because of a stampede triggered by a crowd jostling for a glimpse of him at the time of his arrival.

"All through the interrogation, the actor stuck to his statements at a presser three days ago," a source said.

Arjun, 41, reached the police station at 11.05am with his producer father Allu Arvind, father-in-law and senior Congress functionary Chandrashekar Reddy, and his advocates.

The actor was questioned by Chikkadpally police station's SHO B Raju Naik and ACP L Ramesh Kumar. DCP (Central Zone) Akshansh Yadav oversaw the interrogation.

Arjun might be summoned again: Official
A senior officer of Hyderabad police said: "The investigating team questioned him on details related to his visit to the theatre, him watching the movie with his family members, other persons who accompanied him into the theatre, and also about the stampede outside."

Apart from Arjun, 17 people have been named in the case, including Mythri Movie Makers and the co-owners of Sandhya Theatre. Unconfirmed reports said Anthony, who leads the actor's team of bouncers, was arrested on Tuesday.

"If needed, Arjun might be summoned again for further interrogation and a reconstruction of the scene during the stampede, which is a routine procedure in any criminal case," an officer said.

While the notice served on the actor on Monday stated that he might also be taken to Sandhya Theater as part of the probe, that didn't happen.

Chikkadpally police station turned into a fortress, with a large deployment of civil, task force, and armed police as a precautionary measure. Barricades lined the lanes leading to the police station.