Hyderabad police interrogated Tollywood actor Allu Arjun for more than three-and-half hours over the Sandhya Theatre stampede case on Tuesday, December 24. The Pushpa star left for his residence from Chikkadpally Police Station around 3 pm amid tight security.
Investigating officers grilled the actor in the presence of his lawyer.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Central Zone, Akshansh Yadav led the police team which examined him. Assistant Commissioner of Police L Ramesh Kumar and Inspector Raju Naik were also present during the questioning.
The police officers are believed to have quizzed him about the CCTV footage that surfaced with regard to the December 4 incident at Sandhya Theatre during the premier show of Pusha 2: The Rule.
Allu Arjun was reportedly questioned based on a 10-minute video prepared by police compiling CCTV footage of the incident and also the statements made by him after his release from jail and also on December 21.
Earlier, amid tight security, the actor reached Chikkadpally Police Station around 11 am.
The police on December 23 issued a notice to the actor, directing him to appear before them for further questioning. Police had made tight security at the police station and imposed restrictions around the police station.
Allu Arjun's father Allu Aravind, other family members his lawyers also reached the police station.
A woman named Revathi died and her son Sritej was critically injured in the stampede at Sandhya Theatre on December 4 during the premier show of Puspha 2: The Rule. The theatre management, Allu Arjun, and his team were booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Allu Arjun, who is listed by police as accused number 11, was arrested on December 13. His statement was recorded at Chikkadpally Police Station and he was later produced in a city court, which sent him to judicial custody for 14 days. However, the same day the Telangana High Court granted him interim bail for four weeks. The actor was released from Chanchalguda Jail the next day.
The fresh notice to Allu Arjun came amid reports that the police are planning to approach the High Court to cancel his interim bail.
Hyderabad Police Commissioner CV Anand had said on December 22 that the police would take the next step in the case after taking legal opinion. The police chief also released minute-to-minute CCTV footage of the incident at Sandhya Theatre to debunk Allu Arjun’s claims. The police compiled a 10-minute video to provide a clear account of what had transpired on December 4. Anand said the video was compiled after analysing 1,000 video clippings.
While speaking in the Assembly on December 21, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had come down heavily on Allu Arjun for visiting the theatre without police permission and conducting a ‘roadshow’ even after the stampede claimed the life of a woman and critically injured her son. Hours later, Allu Arjun addressed a press conference, terming the allegations as false. He also stated he was hurt over character assassination. However, the police came out with CCTV footage to refute the actor's claims.
