Telugu superstar Allu Arjun was arrested this morning in a stampede case at a Hyderabad theatre that saw the death of a woman. A viral video has emerged showing a cop escorting the ‘Pushpa 2’ actor in an elevator. In another video, Mr Arjun is seen in the parking plot of his Jubilee Hills home, surrounded by cops and others. He boards a police car and it takes him away to the Chikkadpally Police Station. His father and well-known filmmaker Allu Arvind and other family members were also present when he was arrested.
Mr Arjun has been charged by the Hyderabad Police with culpable homicide not amounting to murder and voluntarily causing hurt over the stampede at Sandhya Theatre. Besides him, members of his security team and the management of the Sandhya Theatre have also been charged in the stampede case.
The stampede broke out on December 4 as people rushed to catch a glimpse of the hugely popular actor when he and the film’s music director Devi Sr Prasad made an unscheduled visit to the theatre during the screening of his movie ‘Pushpa 2: The Rule’. A 35-year-old woman named Revathi died and her nine-year-old son was injured in the stampede.
There was no intimation from the theatre management or the actors’ team that they would be visiting, Hyderabad Police Commissioner CV Anand had said then.
Allu Arjun had said he was deeply heartbroken by the woman’s death in the stampede and assured the grieving family he would meet them personally.
The 41-year-old actor has sought the Telangana High Court to quash the case. After his detention today, he approached the court to put off his arrest till Monday.
