At Chikkadpally police station, the actor was interrogated about the stampede, including his views on its cause, whether the police informed him of the woman's death, and his actions during the rally, theatre exit, and roadshow
Published Dec 24, 2024 | 11:38 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 24, 2024 | 11:38 PM
File photo of Allu Arjun. (X)
The police questioned actor Allu Arjun on Tuesday, 24 December, on the circumstances that led to the fatal stampede at Sandhya Theatre.
A woman was killed and her son grievously injured in the stampede, allegedly triggered by Arjun’s visit to the theatre for a screening of his latest movie, Pushpa 2 The Rule.
The actor who arrived at the Chikkadpally police station in Hyderabad around 11 am responded to queries posed by Central DCP Akshansh Yadav and his team. The actor was accompanied by his father Arvind, father-in-law K Chandrasekhar Reddy and producer-distributor Bunny Vasu.
The entire police station was cordoned off and no vehicle was allowed inside during the questioning. The media contingent, too, was also kept outside the station premises. Police were deployed in strength at Allu Arjun’s residence to prevent any untoward incidents.
In the evening, a screen was set up over the gate to prevent the media from peeping over the gate to see what was transpiring on the premises of the house.
In a related development, the police detained Antony, one of the bouncers who was seen pushing the people back to make room for Arjun’s car to enter the theatre premises.
At Chikkadpally police station, the police quizzed the actor on his take on the stampede, who he thought was responsible for it, and whether the police had informed him or not about the death of the woman.
They also asked him why he had to arrive at the theatre in a rally waving at the crowd, why he had refused to get out of the theatre when the police told him to leave and why he had to again conduct a roadshow while departing.
The actor is understood to have answered all the questions posed, including the one on whether Sandhya Theatre management had informed him that the police permission for his visit was denied. Theatre manager Nagaraju already admitted that the police had told him that they cannot provide security for the premier show. The police apparently framed the questions based on the video released by the police commissioner on the stampede.
The police reportedly also sought clarifications from the points the actor had raised in the press conference which he had held, after Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy raised the issue in the Assembly.
The chief minister wondered what kind of a human being Allu Arjun was, to not visit the stampede victim’s family even after being informed of the tragedy while he was in the theatre. They had reportedly asked him how he could call the stampede an accident, which he did while speaking to media persons.
The police reportedly asked whether the stampede was triggered by his bouncers, who pushed the surging crowds and even the policemen to clear the way for the actor’s car to move forward.
The interrogation lasted around three-and-a-half hours.
The following is the list of the accused in the case.
A1: Agamati Pedaramireddy, Theatre Owner
A2: Agamati Chinnarami Reddy, Theatre Owner
A3: M. Sandeep, Partner
A4: Sumit, Partner
A5: Agamati Vinay, Partner
A6: Ashutosh Reddy, Partner
A7: Renukadevi, Partner
A8: Aruna Reddy, Partner
A9: Nagaraju, Manager
A10: Vijaychander, In charge of Lower Balcony
A11: Allu Arjun, Actor
A12: Santosh, Arjun’s PA
A13: Sarathbanni, Arjun’s Manager
A14: Ramesh, Security Team
A15: Raju, Security Team
A16: Vinay Kumar, Fans’ Association
A17: Farwaz, Bodyguard
A18: Mythri Movies Producers
(Edited by Ananya Rao)
