Hyderabad Police Commissioner has issued a show-cause notice to Sandhya Theatre management asking why the movie hall's licence should not be cancelled.
Published Dec 17, 2024 | 10:42 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 18, 2024 | 7:18 AM
Hyderabad Police Commissioner CV Anand and Health Secretary Christina Z Chongthu interacting with the media after meeting the doctors at KIMS on Tuesday. (Supplied)
The health condition of the nine-year-old Sri Tej, who was injured in a stampede at Sandhya Theatre complex on 4 December, continues to be critical. Doctors told the police that the boy had suffered brain damage.
The boy was critically injured and his mother Revanthi died in the stampede when popular actor Allu Arjun along, with heroine Rashmika Mandanna, visited the theater and watched Pushpa-2, The Rule, on the fateful day. The boy has ever since been under treatment at KIMS.
On Tuesday, 17 December, Hyderabad police Commissioner CV Anand, accompanied by Health Secretary Christina Z Chongthu, visited the hospital and checked on the boy.
“We spoke to the doctors. They told us that the boy’s brain had been damaged because it could not get enough oxygen supply due to the stampede,” Anand told reporters after meeting the doctors.
“The boy is now on ventilator support. The doctors indicated that the treatment might prolong. We have asked the doctors to issue a health bulletin on his health status,” the officer added.
Christina wished the boy a speedy recovery. The police commissioner refused to entertain any other question.
Meanwhile, a KIMS bulletin said the boy’s condition continued to be critical and that he was under intensive care. The boy was also suffering from an infection. There was the growth of pseudomonas requiring the upgradation of antibiotics.
At the time of admission on 4 December, the child had low oxygen saturation and irregular breathing, requiring immediate intubation and ventilation. The bulletin was signed by Dr Chetan R Mundada, Senior Consultant Pediatric Critical Care and Pediatrics.
Meanwhile, the Hyderabad Police Commissioner issued a show-cause notice to Sandhya Theatre management on why the Cinematograph Licence in Form -B issued to it should not be cancelled.
The police have set a 10-day deadline for the management to respond to the notice and if they did not get any reply, it would be construed that the theatre had no explanation to offer and that an order would be passed cancelling its licence without any further notice.
The notice was issued to Renuka Devi of Sandhya 70 MM theatre.
In the notice, the police maintained that they had not been intimated either by the theatre staff or the actor’s team that the actor, the female lead actor, and the actor’s family would be visiting the theatre.
Police said that the twin theatres – Sandhya 70 MM and 35 MM – were located on the same premises and had a common main entry and exit. Both theatres have a combined seating capacity of about 2,520 people. There were no proper signboards for entry and exit points to guide the people visiting the movie hall.
The management also encouraged the gathering of fans by erecting large flexies outside the theatre illegally without prior permission.
The infrastructure of the theatre was not satisfactory and the lower balcony entry grill gate was not manned properly to withstand the flow of public and it got damaged due to overcrowding.
The theatre management failed to inform the local police about the arrival of the actor. They also did not plan any entry, exit, or seating plan for the film’s lead actors despite knowing that they would draw huge public attention.
The management allowed the actor’s private security to enter the theatre along with him which caused inconvenience to the people. The security personnel blocked the free passage between the seats, the police said.
There was no proper system to check the tickets which allowed unauthorised entry and overcrowding inside the theatre which created suffocation inside the theatre.
The management did not have proper parking for visitors and it had not made arrangements for proper security for maintaining the crowd at the main gates which resulted in an untoward incident. The police said these lapses established that the management had failed to provide a safe and secure environment to the people.
For the last two days, a note, supposed to be one issued to Sandhya Theatre Management has been in circulation on social media. It asked the theatre management to inform the actor and the production team not to visit the theatre on 4 December for the special show.
The notice was issued by the inspector of police, Chikkadpalli, to Sandhya 70 MM management. The police issued such a notice because the twin theaters were situated adjacent to restaurants and both theatres were in a single compound. If any celebrities come it would not be possible to control the crowd due to the single entry and exit points for both theatres.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
