Indian movie star Allu Arjun was released on bail just hours after being arrested on Friday. His arrest was connected to a stampede at a theater in Hyderabad during a screening of his new movie, Pushpa 2: The Rule. The stampede happened on December 4 and caused the death of a woman and injuries to her son.
The Telangana High Court ordered Arjun’s release, saying he has the same rights as any other citizen. Earlier, a lower court had ruled that Arjun should stay in custody for 14 days. The lower court also rejected his request to delay his arrest until Monday.
Arjun was arrested from his home in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad. His family, including his father, a filmmaker named Allu Arvind, was present during the arrest. Arjun said the police entered his bedroom before taking him to the police station.
On December 4, Arjun visited Sandhya Theatre during a 9:30 PM screening of Pushpa 2. When fans saw him at the main entrance, many rushed forward to get a closer look. The crowd grew quickly, and the situation got out of control, leading to a stampede.
Deeply heartbroken by the tragic incident at Sandhya Theatre. My heartfelt condolences go out to the grieving family during this unimaginably difficult time. I want to assure them they are not alone in this pain and will meet the family personally. While respecting their need for… pic.twitter.com/g3CSQftucz
— Allu Arjun (@alluarjun) December 6, 2024
The stampede injured a woman named Revathi, 35, and her 9-year-old son. Police rescued them and sent them to the hospital, but sadly, Revathi died. Her son survived but was badly hurt.
Revathi’s husband blamed Arjun, his security team, and the theater managers for not preparing enough to handle such a large crowd. The police charged Arjun with “culpable homicide not amounting to murder,” which means causing a death without meaning to. They said neither Arjun nor the theater staff informed them about his visit, and they criticized the theater for not having proper crowd control measures.
Later, some documents came to light that suggest Arjun’s team and the theater did tell the police about the visit beforehand. This raises questions about whether the police had enough time to prepare.
After the incident, Arjun shared his sadness about what happened. He wrote on X that he was “deeply heartbroken” by the tragedy. He offered ₹2.5 million (about $29,500) to help Revathi’s family and promised to pay for her son’s medical treatment.
Even with this sad event, Arjun’s movie Pushpa 2: The Rule has been very successful. In just one week, it has made over $125 million at the box office.
This tragic event has made many people talk about safety during big events, especially when famous people are involved. It also shows how important it is for organizers and the police to work together to prevent such accidents.
Arjun’s legal case will continue, but for now, he is free on bail.
