Telugu actor Allu Arjun walked out of jail on Saturday morning, a day after he was arrested in connection with the stampede outside a Hyderabad theatre screening ‘Pushpa 2’ earlier this month in which one woman died. The actor left the jail premises from the back gate with his father Allu Aravind and father-in-law Kancharla Chandrasekhar Reddy – who had come to receive him, officials said.

Upon his release, Allu Arjun’s lawyer Ashok Reddy said that the actor’s arrest was an “illegal detention” as the jail authorities did not release him despite receiving an order copy from the Telangana High Court yesterday.

“They received an order copy from the High Court but despite that, they didn’t release him…They will have to answer. This is an illegal detention. We will take legal action…As of now, he has been released,” he said.

Allu Arjun was arrested from his house in Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad on Friday, hours after he returned from Delhi after attending the success meet of ‘Pushpa 2’. A lower court had remanded him to 14-day judicial custody. However, shortly after, the Telangana High Court granted interim bail for four weeks.

For regular bail, the actor was told to approach the Nampally court.

‘Pushpa 2’ Stampede Case

On December 4, a stampede broke out at a theatre in Hyderabad screening Allu Arjun-starrer ‘Pushpa 2’ when the actor made what the police called an “unscheduled” visit to the auditorium. During the incident, one woman was killed and her son was injured.

The Hyderabad police had registered a case against Allu Arjun, his security team, and the management of the theatre, based on a complaint filed by the victim’s husband. According to police, there was no intimation from theatre management or the actor’s team that they would be visiting the theatre. The theatre management also did not make any additional provisions regarding security to manage the crowd, officials said.

The theatre owner, general manager, and security manager were arrested on December 8.

However, hours after Allu Arjun was arrested in the case yesterday, the victim’s husband defended the actor and said that he was ready to withdraw the case.

“I am ready to withdraw the case. I was not aware of the arrest. Allu Arjun has nothing to do with the stampede in which my wife passed away,” he said.

Reactions pour in on Allu Arjun’s arrest

Several politicians and people from the film industry came in support of Allu Arjun and slammed his arrest.

BRS leader KT Rama Rao hit out at the Congress government in Telangana, calling the action against the actor a “pinnacle of insecurity of rulers”.

“I totally sympathise with the victims of the stampede but who failed really? Treating Allu Arjun as a common criminal is uncalled for especially for something he isn’t directly responsible. There is always space for respect and dignified conduct. I strongly condemn high-handed behaviour of the government,” he said.

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw called the stampede incident a “poor arrangement by the state and local administration”. According to him, Congress has “no respect” for the creative industry.

“…The arrest of Allu Arjun proves it yet again. The mishap at Sandhya Theatre was a clear case of poor arrangements by the state and local administration. Now, to deflect that blame, they are indulging in such publicity stunts. The Telangana Government should assist those affected and punish those making the arrangements that day instead of continuously attacking film personalities,” he wrote on X.

Hyderabad:

Two days after a woman died and her son was critically injured at a theatre during the premier show of ‘Pushpa 2: The Rule’, actor Allu Arjun said on Friday that he is ‘deeply heartbroken’ and announced an assistance of Rs 25 lakh for the family.

The actor assured the grieving family that he would meet them personally and extend every possible assistance.

Allu Arjun also promised to take care of medical expenses of the boy, whose condition remained critical.

Allu Arjun took to X to react to the tragedy that occurred at Sandhya Theatre in Hyderabad on the night of December 4.

“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 space to grieve, I stand committed to extend every possible assistance to help them navigate through this challenging journey,” wrote Allu Arjun.

In a video posted in Telugu, he said the entire film team was shocked over the incident. He said as a goodwill gesture he was announcing Rs 25 lakh for the family to secure their future.

Stating that they make films so that people go to theatres and enjoy, he appealed to people to be careful.

Hyderabad Police on Thursday booked actor Allu Arjun, his security team and the management of Sandhya Theatre.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Zone) Akshansh Yadav said based on a complaint by the killed woman’s husband, the police have registered a case.

Chikkadpally Police Station registered the case under sections 105 (Culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 118(1) (Voluntarily causing hurt) r/w 3(5) BNS.

The DCP told mediapersons that there was no information from the theatre management or actor’s team that they would be visiting the theatre.

The theatre management also did not make any additional provisions regarding security to manage the crowd.

According to the police, one Revathi (35) and her son Sri Tej (13) felt suffocated due to large public influx and immediately the police personnel who were on duty pulled them out of the public from the lower balcony and performed CPR to her son and immediately shifted them to the nearby Durgabai Deshmukh Hospital.

The doctor of Durgabai Deshmukh Hospital informed that she was dead and son Sri Tej was advised to be shifted to another hospital for better treatment.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)