Hyderabad: After a letter written by the management of Sandhya Theatre to the Chikkadpally Police emerged online seeking police security for the Pushpa 2 premiere in the context of its stars Allu Arjun and Rashmika Mandanna visiting their venue, the Hyderabad city police released a statement on Saturday, December 14, stating that usually, the organizers visit and brief the officers of the concerned police station while requesting security for important events, while the management “simply submitted the letter in the inward section, without any briefing.”
The theatre management released the security request letter, following the arrest of Allu Arjun on Friday, December 13, in connection with the case of death of a woman due to the stampede.
“No details were made available to the police despite this we arranged suitable bandobast for crowd management outside the Theatre.”, read the police statement.
The letter, submitted on December 2, to the Chikkadpally ACP, the Sandhya Theatre management had requested security presence at the venue for the premier of the film, Pushpa 2. It further stated that the cast of the movie, including Allu Arjun, and Rashmika Mandanna along with producers and other high-profile celebrities will be present at their venue.
The management of Sandhya Theatre also specified that the police bandobast was required at 9:30 pm on December 4 and at 1:50 am, 5:50 am, 9:50 am and 1:50 pm on December 5.
In the letter, the theatre management further stressed that a large number of Allu Arjun fans were expected to swarm the Theatre.
The clarification statement by the police meanwhile said that the crowd was “well in control” till the star arrived. They said that Arjun emerged out of his vehicle’s sunroof, which caused a lot of people towards the Theatre’s main gate, with Allu Arjun’s security personnel pushing the crowd away to make way for his car.
Allu Arjun granted interim bail by Telangana HC in Pushpa 2 stampede case
Allu Arjun was told to move out from Sandhya Theatre: Police
The police further stated that the Tollywood star’s security team was directed by them to take him out of the theatre citing the heavy crowds, but was ignored by the star and his team.
“The star was present at the Theatre for more than two hours, proving adequate bandobast was in place. It was his actions that led to the chaos and stampede, which took the life of a woman and critically injured her son,” the police claimed.
Police deny using force during Allu Arjun’s arrest
Police also denied the allegations of police “misbehaving” with Allu Arjun during his arrest.
According to the department, the officers arrived at the Tollywood star’s Jubilee Hills residence and informed him about the arrest, to which he requested some time to change clothes. The police personnel agreed to his request and waited outside his room before taking him into custody.
The police added that the star was given time to speak with his wife and his family before he voluntarily entered the police vehicle.
Allu Arjun arrested over woman’s death at Pushpa 2 premiere in Hyderabad
Sandhya Theatre management arrested over stampede
Following the stampede at the Sandhya Theatre in RTC X Roads, Hyderabad, the Chikkadpally police arrested the management of the Theatre for alleged negligence of security. The accused were identified as the owner of Sandhya Theatre M Sandeep aged 37, the manager of Sandhya Theatre M Nagaraju aged 51, and the security manager, Gandhakam Vijay Chander aged 53.
A woman died and her young son was seriously injured due to suffocation during a chaotic crowd surge at Sandhya Theatre in Chikkadpally. The incident occurred around 9:30 pm during the premiere of the movie Pushpa 2 which saw a massive crowd gather in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the movie’s lead actor, Allu Arjun.
