The Hyderabad police have released visuals of Allu Arjun’s visit to Sandhya theatre from the night of December 4, when a stampede resulting from his visit killed a woman, after he claimed that police did not inform him of the commotion that night. Chikkapally Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) L Ramesh Kumar alleged that even after he informed the actor of Revathi’s death, and asked him to leave the theatre, Allu Arjun insisted on staying till the film ended.
On December 21, Telangana Chief Minister spoke about the incident in the Assembly, calling Allu Arjun out for worsening the stampede situation by allegedly acting irresponsibly, and not following police instructions. Within hours, Allu Arjun addressed the media and denied CM Revanth’s claims. A day later, during the Hyderabad City Police Annual Press Meet on December 22, a video was released contradicting Allu Arjun’s claims.
On December 21, denying CM Revanth’s allegations, Allu Arjun said that he was not informed by the police about Revathi’s death or the mayhem outside. He claimed that he left soon after the film started, when his team informed him of the uncontrollable crowd. He also said that he did not conduct any roadshow or procession, that he only briefly waved at fans from his car’s sunroof while approaching the theatre so that the crowd would disperse. However, the Hyderabad police shared a different version of events with the media on December 22.
Timeline of events:
Chikkadpally SHO Raju Naik said that he had denied permission to the theatre management in writing, as the premises with two theatres had only one entry and exit. “We were not in contact with Allu Arjun’s team, the theatre management should’ve informed them,” he said.
He also said that for two hours before Allu Arjun arrived, the police faced difficulty in controlling the crowd, and he informed the theatre management orally as well to inform the actor’s team not to turn up.
The video released by the police was put together after analysing several visuals from CCTV cameras, media coverage, and cell phone videos, Hyderabad Commissioner of Police CV Anand said.
According to the video, Allu Arjun waved at fans from his car’s sunroof while arriving from the Musheerabad metro station to Sandhya theatre, from 9.28 pm to 9.34 pm. This led to a huge crowd following his vehicle and converging at the theatre, according to the police.
While CM Revanth has also rebuked the actor for doing so and worsening the crowd situation, the actor defended himself, saying it was a norm and that his appearance would’ve made it easier to disperse the crowd.
He then entered the theatre around 9.35 pm, accompanied by 40 to 50 private security staff, police said. In the next five minutes, the crowd grew to such an extent that the grilled gate leading to the theatre’s lower balcony broke down. The crowd spilled into the lower balcony area, which is where Revathi and her Sritej collapsed due to suffocation.
Around 9.40 pm, Allu Arjun exited his car, and his security team took control of the route leading to the upper balcony, escorting him there, police said. As the actor entered, some people were seen trying to climb from the lower balcony to the upper balcony.
Around 9.45 pm to 9.50 pm, Revathi and Sritej were take outside the theatre by the police and general public after they had collapsed. Police said they performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on them before taking them to the hospital.
Around 10.45 pm, the ACP returned from the hospital and made several attempts to inform Allu Arjun about Revathi’s death and Sritej’s condition, but was obstructed by his manager Santhosh, the video said.
ACP Ramesh Kumar said that he informed Allu Arjun’s manager Santhosh that a woman had died, a child was severely injured, and that the situation was going out of contro, but Allu Arjun insisted on leaving only after watching the entire film.
“At first the manager and another person did not allow me and the Chikkapally Station House Officer (SHO) to meet him, and they didn’t inform him either,” he said. Eventually, on the Central Zone Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP)’s instructions, he made his way to Allu Arjun and told him directly that “a woman is dead, her son is critical, our officers have cleared the route for you, please leave. But he said he would leave only after watching the film,” the ACP said.
He said he then informed DCP Akshansh Yadav. “We both went in together, gave 10-15 minutes’ time and brought him outside. We tried to get him to leave sooner but he wouldn’t,” the ACP said.
Around 11.40 pm, the DCP informed his manager that Allu Arjun must leave, and the manager sought another 10 minutes’ time, during which the police cleared the route outside, according to the video. Around 12.05 am, Allu Arjun finally left the theatre, accompanied by the ACP and DCP, the police said.
The video also included visuals of the actor waving to the crowd from the car’s sunroof once again, while leaving the theatre as well.