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In the ongoing investigation of the December 2024 theatre stampede involving actor Allu Arjun, the Chikkadpally Assistant Commissioner of Police has justified not taking action against the movie star before the stampede.
The stampede, which took place on December 4, 2024, was triggered by Allu Arjun's sudden visit to the Sandhya theatre at RTC crossroads for a premiere show of his film Pushpa 2: The Rule. A woman named Revathi died in the stampede.
ACP L Ramesh informed the Hyderabad Commissioner of Police that trying to take action against Allu Arjun before the stampede occurred “would have risked escalating the crowd into a mob, potentially leading to damage to public property and further breach of public order.”
Since the police had denied permission to Allu Arjun’s team and the Sandhya 70 mm theatre management for the actor’s visit on December 4, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had questioned why the police allowed the crowd and Allu Arjun to gather for an event which did not have permission.
“The police should have taken legal action against accused actor/management at the very first occurrence, prior to incident itself, for breaking the law and attending the unlawful events,” the NHRC said, according to the ACP’s letter.
In his letter to the Hyderabad Commissioner of Police, the ACP on July 19 said that they had denied permission for Allu Arjun’s visit to Sandhya theatre in RTC crossroads anticipating large crowds. The official letter declining the permission for the visit was attached as proof.
The ACP said that trying to take action on Allu Arjun after he appeared at RTC crossroads would have made it very difficult to control the crowd, as people had already gathered in huge numbers.
“Any attempt to take action would have risked escalating the crowd into a mob, potentially leading to damage to public property and further breach of public order… practically it is not possible to take legal action against the accused actor/management at the very first occurrence as… [it] was in concurrence of the crowd surge… the priority…at the moment…was to control the crowd and prevent loss of life or damage to the property,” the ACP wrote.
The area being densely crowded even at other times made it difficult for the police to identify and prevent fans from gathering at the theatre, the ACP said.
“The Chikkadpally area is densely populated with students, study circles, and various restaurants like Bawarchi, Astoria and Crystal, making it challenging for the police to sift the public who are coming to watch the movie at that point in time,” he said.
He said that the police had arranged bandobast at the theatre premises as a precautionary measure.
The tragic stampede occurred on December 4, 2024, when hundreds of fans gathered at Sandhya theatre to catch a glimpse of the actor. Allu Arjun, who arrived near the theatre at around 9.35 pm, waved at the crowd through the sunroof of his car, escalating the frenzy.
As the actor entered the theatre, a huge crowd followed him. In the chaos, the gate of a lower balcony collapsed and caused a stampede, leading to the death of 35-year-old Revathi. Her eight-year-old son, Sri Teja, was hospitalised on respiratory support for five months before being discharged for neurorehabilitation.
The NHRC also asked whether the police had warned the crowd, the theatre management and Allu Arjun against the gathering, as they had clearly foreseen the potential tragedy which is why they had denied permission for the visit.
To this, the ACP claimed that the incident was unforeseeable as Allu Arjun had conducted a roadshow and waved from his car’s sunroof, causing a further surge of crowd towards his vehicle and the theatre. “This was done despite several warnings given by the police to the actor, actor's manager and the theatre management,” the ACP said.
Even after the actor was escorted out of the theatre following the stampede, despite having knowledge of the incident, Allu Arjun again waved through the sunroof, the ACP wrote in the letter.
The Chikkadpally police justified their management of the incident, stating that they prioritised public safety and acted with due diligence under “challenging circumstances” to control the situation and prevent further harm.
They said that it was Allu Arjun’s “overt act” which caused the crowd to swell and caused the stampede.
Taking immediate action against the actor was not feasible at that time without risking public safety, they said.
“However, immediately after the incident a case was registered under sections 105 (culpable homicide), 118(1) (voluntarily causing hurt) read with 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the actor, his bouncers and management of the theatre and all other concerned,” the letter read.