Hyderabad: Justice K. Sujana of the Telangana High Court on Tuesday interdicted the police from arresting the producers of ‘Pushpa 2’. The producers, Yalamanchili Ravi Shankar and Yerneni Naveen, moved the High Court stating inter alia that they could not be arrayed as accused in the incident that led to the death of a woman in the midst of the crowds at a special show of the film at Sandhya theatre at RTC crossroads here on December 4.
The petitioners contended that they head and run a film production and distribution company by the name Mythri Movie Makers which operates primarily in the Telugu film industry. The company has produced over 30 movies and distributed about 30 others, including ‘Pushpa 2’.
The petitioners contended that there was neither intent nor action that could or should be attributed to the makers of the film in the Sandhya theatre accident.
It was the case of the prosecution that complainant's wife M. Revati and son Sri Tej, who were seated in the lower balcony of the theatre hall, experienced severe difficulty in breathing due to the overcrowding and suffocation caused by the commotion.
The two collapsed and the police intervened to rescue them and transported them to a hospital for treatment. Revati was declared dead at a hospital and Sri Tej remains in a critical condition.
Thereafter, the petitioners along with the Sandhya 70 mm theatre management and their staff, the lead actor Allu Arjun and his personal security were arrayed as accused in a crime registered by the Chikkadpally police station.
Counsel for the petitioner argued that attributing responsibility to the petitioners for the incident, despite them having taken reasonable steps to notify the authorities, was untenable. The role of the petitioners was limited to producing the film, and no causal link existed between their actions and the tragic event in question.
