Allu Arjun opens up on Pushpa 2 theatre stampede, but whose fault was it?

Hours after Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy targeted Allu Arjun over the Sandhya Theatre stampede, the Pushpa 2 actor held a press meet to dismiss the allegations. Responding to CM’s accusations, the actor said that he had permission obtained from the theatre management, and the police allowed his entry. He also recounted how he stepped out of the car near the theatre and waved at fans before entering to disperse them. 

The visibly emotional actor condoled the bereaved family and wished for the speedy recovery of the injured child who is in critical condition. While he addressed the ‘misinformation’, ‘character assassination’ and ‘false allegations’, he maintained that the incident was an unfortunate accident and it was nobody’s fault. He added that police, theatre authorities, and other staff acted with positive intentions. 

On December 4, Arjun arrived at the Sandhya Theatre in Hyderabad to watch his film Pushpa 2’s show.  Before entering the theatre, he waved at fans through the sunroof of his vehicle, attracting a crowd that went uncontrolled. Bhaskar Magudampalli, his wife Revathi, and their children Sri Tej and Sanvika were at the theatre. The crowd separated the mother and son from the father and daughter.  Revathi and Tej got squeezed into the stampede which led to them suffocating and falling unconscious. The police rushed to the site and took both mother and child to a hospital. However, the mother was declared dead on arrival, Tej has since been on life support.

Following the tragic incident, a case was registered by the Hyderabad police against Arjun, his private security team, and the theatre management under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), following a complaint filed by the family of the deceased woman. The actor was taken into custody on December 13 in connection with the incident. Subsequently, the Telangana High Court granted him interim bail, and he was released on December 14. 

A slew of Tollywood stars arrived at Arjun’s residence to meet him after his bail. However, he did not meet the grieving family nor visit the hospital citing that his legal team had advised against meeting them. Taking a potshot at the actor, CM questioned, “Did Allu Arjun lose a kidney, leg, or an eye? Why was there such urgency for stars to visit him? Did anyone think of the injured boy or the grieving family?" at the Telangana Assembly. 

Well, it is yet to be ascertained what led to this unfortunate stampede, as both Allu Arjun and CM Revanth Reddy's recount of the incident differs from each other.