'Crowd Was Under Control Till Allu Arjun Arrived,' Cops Detail On What Led To Stampede During Pushpa 2 Screening

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Amid a massive uproar over Allu Arjun 's arrest in the Sandhya Theatre stampede case, Hyderabad Police said that the crowd was under control until the Pushpa 2 actor arrived at the spot. They also issued a clarification regarding a letter being circulated in the media, requesting police bandobast for December 4 and 5. The police clarified that the organizer did not meet with any officer and simply submitted the letter. In a detailed press release, the Hyderabad police shared their side of the story.

Here's what the police said:

In a press release, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Central Zone, Hyderabad City said,“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 release of Pushpa-2. We receive a lot of requests for bandobast citing visits by some political personalities, film celebrities, religious programs etc., However, it is beyond our resources to provide bandobast for every event.”

Sandhya Cine Enterprise had requested Hyderabad police on December 2 to arrange bandobast on December 4 and 5 in connection with the release of the 'Pushpa-2.'

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“In specific cases where a heavy crowd is expected or some popular personality is visiting, the organizer personally visits the police station / ACP / DCP office and briefs about the program depending upon which we provide the bandobust. In this case, the organizer did not meet any officer and simply submitted the letter in the inward section. No details were made available to the police, and despite this, we arranged a suitable bandobust for crowd management outside the theatre. The crowd was well in control till the actor arrived,” police said.

Police alleged that the actions of the actor led to a stampede and, subsequently, the death of a woman.

“He came to the theatre, came out from the sunroof of his vehicle and started waving to the public gathered there. This gesture attracted a lot of the public towards the theatre'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, and Allu Arjun was there inside the theatre for more than two hours. Therefore, it is clear that adequate police bandobast 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 9 days of the incident,” police said.

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Hyderabad police also dismissed the allegations that the police personnel misbehaved with Allu Arjun at the time of his arrest.

“Another issue is that the police personnel misbehaved with Allu Arjun at the time of arrest, which is also not true. When police reached his residence, he requested 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 came out and entered the police vehicle,” police said.

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