Stampede case: Allu Arjun released after spending night in jail
Telugu superstar Allu Arjun was released from Hyderabad's Chanchalguda prison on Saturday morning after the Telangana High Court granted him interim bail for four weeks. He was released after spending the night in jail as his bail papers arrived late on Friday. The actor was arrested earlier that day from his home in connection with a stampede at his film, Pushpa 2's premiere, which killed one woman and critically injured her son.
Arjun's arrest followed 'Pushpa 2' premiere stampede
The stampede took place at Hyderabad's Sandhya Theatre during Pushpa 2's premiere on December 4. The tragedy killed a 35-year-old woman, M Revathi, and left her nine-year-old son critically injured. Poor crowd control and mismanagement were blamed by police for the tragedy. A case was registered against Arjun, his security team, and Sandhya Theatre management on the basis of a complaint by Revathi's husband, M Bhaskar.
Charges and counterclaims in 'Pushpa 2' stampede case
The case against Arjun and others was filed under BNS sections 105 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 118(1) r/w 3(5) (voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt). On Friday, Sandhya Theatre management claimed they had requested police bandobast for the premiere. However, the police argued that they receive many such requests and stated that the organizers didn't meet any officer in person but "simply submitted the letter in the inward section."
Police statement on Arjun's role in the stampede
In a statement, police said, "He (Arjun) came to the theater, came out from the sunroof of his vehicle and started waving to the public gathered there. This gesture attracted a lot of the public toward the theater's main gate." "At the same time, his private security started pushing people to make way for his vehicle. His team was intimated to take him back citing a large public gathering, but they didn't act on it."
Meanwhile, Bhaskar doesn't blame Arjun for the incident
Meanwhile, recently, Bhaskar said he doesn't blame Arjun for the incident and is willing to take back his complaint. "We only visited Sandhya Theatre because my son was eager to watch the movie. Allu Arjun is not to blame for being at the theater that day," he said. "I am ready to withdraw my complaint... He has no connection to the stampede."
Arjun's financial aid and plea to quash FIR
In the aftermath of the tragedy, Arjun announced ₹25 lakh financial assistance to the family of the deceased. The actor has also filed a plea in the High Court to quash the FIR and sought a stay on all further proceedings, including arrest, pending disposal of his petition. The High Court is likely to hear this matter in due course.
