'No use of force'—Hyderabad Police deny 'misbehaving' with Allu Arjun
The Hyderabad Police have denied allegations of misconduct during the recent arrest of Telugu actor Allu Arjun. The actor was arrested on Friday in connection with the death of Revathi, a woman in her 30s, during a stampede at the screening of Pushpa 2 at Sandhya Theatre. There were reports that police officers misbehaved with Arjun during his arrest. However, the authorities have now refuted the claims.
Police justified Arjun's arrest and clarified security arrangements
The Deputy Commissioner of Police, Central Zone, Hyderabad City, defended Arjun's arrest in a press release. The statement read, "Clarification regarding the letter being circulating in media addressed by Sandhya Cine Enterprise 70 MM to ACP Chikkadpally requesting bandobust on 04/05-12-2024 in connection with the release of Pushpa-2." "We receive a lot of requests for bandobust citing visits by some political personalities, film celebrities, religious programs etc., However, it is beyond our resources to provide bandobust for every event."
Police blamed Arjun's actions for the fatal incident
The police further said that despite not getting detailed information from the organizers, they had made appropriate bandobust arrangements for crowd management. "He came to the theater, came out from the sunroof of his vehicle and started waving to the public gathered there," said police. "This gesture attracted a lot of public toward the theater's main gate."
'His actions led to this unfortunate incident'
"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 and [he] was inside the theater for more than two hours." "Adequate police bandobust was in place, it was his actions which led to this unfortunate incident, in which a lady died and her son is still unconscious on a ventilator even after nine days of the incident."
'There was no use of force'
The Police further added, "When police reached his residence, he requested some time to change his clothes. He went inside his bedroom, police personnel waited outside and took him into custody when he came out." "There was no use of force or any misbehaviour with him by any police personnel. He was given enough time to interact with his family and wife and he himself came out and entered the police vehicle."
Arjun's arrest and subsequent release on bail
The superstar was arrested from his Banjara Hills home on Friday afternoon. A local court sent him to 14-day judicial custody but the Telangana High Court granted him interim bail later in the evening. The actor spent the night in jail, though, due to an issue with the bail order. He walked out of jail on Saturday morning.