Allu Arjun was UT prisoner 7697; Spent 12 hours in Chanchalguda with 3 inmates
Hyderabad: Pushpa-2 actor Allu Arjun spent over 12 hours at the Chanchalguda central prison as Undertrial Prisoner 7697, before he was released early on Thursday. He was arrested, and subsequently granted bail, for the Sandhya theatre stampede in which a woman died and her son is battling for his life.,
Though he had secured interim bail from the Telangana High Court on Friday, his release was delayed as the official order copy reached the jail only at about 11 pm. Arjun has been taken to the jail immediately after his custody was ordered by the Nampally courts.
Arjun, Accused No. 11 in the case, was lodged in Manjeera barrack with three others. The block has a separate cook, a convict, sources in the jail disclosed.
Though the prison officials offered him dal rice from the so-called ‘jawan kitchen’ for dinner, he reportedly declined and took a glass of water. He also refused a blanket and preferred to sleep on the floor, sources confirmed.
Arjun attended in the regular roll call at 6.30 pm on Friday and at 6 am on Saturday, when the doors of the cells are opened, sources in jail department said. It is reported that Arjun interacted with three co-inmates till the early hours and was hardly able to sleep..
He was released at about 6.30 am from the prison’s rear gate. Till his release, the barrack was kept under surveillance and monitored by the correctional authorities
Arjun, after his release, was joined by his personal security guards and advocates. He expressed his gratitude towards his fans and the public for their support. He said the stampede was "unfortunate" and vowed to support the family of the victim.
“It was not intentional, it was an unfortunate event," he stated.
Arjun said he had visited the theatre at least 30 times in the past 20 years and no incident had occurred. He promised to meet the victim’s family soon but refrained from speaking further, saying, "The case is in court, so I cannot talk more about it."
His lawyer Ashok Reddy claimed the prison authorities had received an order copy from High Court in time but did not release the actor. “The authorities are liable to answer... this is illegal detention. We will take legal action,” Ashok Reddy said.
The High Court had made it clear that Arjun should be released immediately; however, the jail authorities kept him in the jail for the night. “Action will be taken on this,” Ashok Reddy added.
