Hyderabad:
Telugu actor Allu Arjun’s bail hearing in the Telangana High Court – after his arrest Friday in the ‘Pushpa 2‘ stampede case – featured a parallel to a similarly tragic incident involving Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan and his film ‘Raees‘, in which also one person died.
Arguing for bail for his client, Allu Arjun’s lawyer recalled the ‘Raees‘ stampede and argued the main question before the court was “… is somebody doing a rash or negligent act?” In that context he spoke about the stampede involving SRK, and said the Bollywood actor “threw clothes at the station, which led to a stampede”. In that case he was not found criminally liable, Mr Arjun’s lawyer said.
It was also argued that Allu Arjun was on the first floor of Hyderabad’s Sandhya Theatre when the stampede occurred on the ground floor. And the lawyer also rubbished claims by the police that they had not been informed of the actor’s plan to attend a special screening of his film.
“The actor was coming… everybody knew that. Even the police knew. Here the actor was not even doing anything whereas, in SRK’s case, the actor threw balls and crowds jumped to grab them.”
The court eventually ruled in favour of Mr Arjun, granting him interim bail for four weeks. The court observed that Allu Arjun’s status as a hugely popular actor could not compromise his right to liberty.
READ | “Just Because He’s An Actor…”: Court Grants Bail To Allu Arjun
“… just because he is an actor… he cannot be held like this,” the High Court said.
The ‘Raees‘ stampede took place at the railway station in Gujarat’s Vadodara in 2017.
The actor and his production team were travelling from Mumbai to Delhi to promote the film.
When the train stopped in Vadodara, Mr Khan tried to interact with his fans; he threw t-shirt and ‘smiley balls’ at the crowd, and it was argued that this led to the stampede.
READ | Shah Rukh Khan Gets Relief By Supreme Court In 2017 Stampede Case
In April 2022 the Gujarat High Court ordered the quashing of the criminal case against SRK. Later that year the High Court’s ruling was challenged in the Supreme Court, which upheld the verdict.
Pushpa 2 Stampede
The stampede broke after the actor made what police said was an unscheduled appearance at the theatre showing his film. A 35-year-old woman was killed and her nine-year-old son was injured as the crowd jostled and shoved each other to catch a glimpse of Mr Arjun.
Hyderabad Police Commissioner CV Anand had said then, “There was no intimation from the side of theatre management or actors’ team… that they will be visiting the theatre…” and noted also that no separate entry, or exit, had been provided, even though the theatre knew they were coming.
According to the police, Mr Arjun arrived at the theatre at 9.30 pm. As news of his arrival – he used the main entrance and spent 15-20 minutes outside – spread, hundreds of people thronged to catch a glimpse of him. His security started pushing the crowd back and that aggravated the situation.
READ | “Son Wanted To Watch Pushpa 2”: Man Whose Wife Was Killed
The woman, identified as Revathi, and her son felt “suffocated”, the police said. They were pulled out of the crowd by police who performed emergency first aid and shifted them to a nearby hospital.
However, Mr Arjun’s office and the theatre officials have insisted the cops had, in fact, been informed.
And, hours after his arrest, a copy of just such a letter was released, in which the police were told of plans for the film’s stars, Allu Arjun and Rashmika Mandana, to visit the theatre at 9.30 pm.
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