FIR Blames Arjun’s Personal Security for Stampede Tragedy

Hyderabad: CCTV footage of the run-up to the tragic incident at Sandhya 70 mm on the day of the special screening of Pushpa 2 - The Rule (December 4), in which a woman lost her life, shows that things went awry from the moment actor Allu Arjun entered the theatre. While he was heading to the theatre, his security guards began pushing and jostling the frenzied crowd. In the melee that transpired the woman, who came to watch the film, along with her husband and their two children, felt breathless and suffocated to death.

According to reliable sources, the first information report (FIR-376) filed by Chikkadpally police points a finger at Arjun's personal security guards.

“There were over 2000 people when Arjun arrived and another 2000 gate-crashed almost immediately. His security personnel started pushing aside the crowd, including those coming out of the theatre. The woman choked. The CPR by our personnel saved her son Sai Tej but Revathi died on the spot,” a police officer told Deccan Chronicle.

The other reason for the stampede was the failure of the theatre management to ensure appropriate facilities when they were aware that thousands of people would gather to see the actor, he said.

In the FIR, the complainant, Revathi’s husband, Magudampalli Bhaskar (40) a private employee from Shalivahana Nagar, Dilsukhnagar, blamed the highhandedness of the actor’s security personnel. He said that they reached the theatre around 9.10 pm by which time there was a massive crowd. Arjun got down from his car around 9.45 pm.

“In the melee, I and my wife got separated. Revathi and Tej, who were in the lower balcony, were unable to breathe and fell down. The police who were on duty rushed them to a hospital but they failed to save Revathi’s life,” he said.

Raju Naik SHO Chikkedpally said that the theatre management, who knew of Arjun’s arrival, did not inform the police.