HYDERABAD: City police commissioner CV Anand on Sunday issued a stern warning to bouncers against misbehaving with police personnel and pushing the public away, stating that VIPs they accompany would be held accountable for their actions. “Any misconduct or disruption to the public or police will be dealt with strictly,” he said speaking about the recent stampede at Sandhya Theatre.
While he refused to comment on allegations that actor Allu Arjun’s team and the production house silenced the family of the victim, who died in the stampede, he urged the public to form their own judgment. “I do not have anything more to say. You have seen it yourselves. Now you decide who is correct,” said Anand while declining to divulge any further information. On approaching the Supreme Court to challenge actor’s bail, he said details will be shared soon.
Ramesh Kumar, assistant commissioner of police, Chikkadpally who was present at the venue, gave a blowby-blow account of the evening’s incidents.
“We not only told him about the fatality but also assured to clear the road outside for him to leave as he is a celebrity. Even then he refused to leave,” said the ACP who was the first to go to the upper balcony to alert the actor about the stampede, along with B Raju Naik, SHO of Chikkadpally.
But the cops were, allegedly, stopped by Allu Arjun’s manager, Santosh, and another person. “They told us that they would inform the actor about the incident. When I told this to my DCP, he asked me to go straight to Allu Arjun and explain the situation,” added Ramesh.
As the area where Allu Arjun was sitting was heavily crowded, Ramesh said he pushed through the crowd to reach the actor and personally briefed him about the grave situation unfolding outside.
“He still refused to leave…We clearly told him that the situation might get out of hand, but he still did not listen. It was only after the DCP stormed inside and gave him a deadline of 15 minutes, did he budge from there,” he said.
Claiming that mayhem had set in from at least two hours before the actor’s arrival at the theatre, SHO Naik said some staff of the theatre – including a man named Nagaraju – were privy to this.
“The crowd was out of control. Since we did not have the contact details of the actor, we told the theatre management to advise him against coming there,” said Naik, breaking down in the middle of the press meet.
“I somehow managed to escape death and am alive today. But for the past 15 days, the fact that one woman died in my hands, and we could not save her has been haunting me. I pray for the soul and speedy recovery of her boy,” the teary-eyed SHO added.
What happened on Dec 4 according to the cops
- 9.10 pm | M Revathi along with her husband and two children arrived at Sandhya theatre in RTC X Roads, for the premiere of Pushpa 2: The Rule.
- 9.30 pm | Allu Arjun, after crossing Musheerabad metro station, kicked off a rally by waving to the crowd, which had already become unruly.
- 9.40 pm | The actor and his family entered the theatre in different cars. By this time, the crowd surged and situation outside escalated significantly.
- 11.30 pm | Cops attempted to reach Arjun, informing him of the fatality that occurred outside. However, the actor insisted on watching entire film.
- 11.45 pm | DCP (central zone), ACP Chikkadpally & SHO Chikkadpally approached Allu Arjun & asked him to leave due to the emergency outside.
- 12.10 am | The actor and his family members were escorted out of the theatre by the police. He waved to the crowd again outside the theatre.
In the stampede on Dec 4 in Sandhya Theatre at RTC Crossroads, Revathi (39) had died due to asphyxiation. Her minor son, who was severely injured, continues to be critical.
The video released by cops shows Arjun kicking off a rally from Musheerabad Metro station waving to the crowd. It then shows the his father-in-law with other family members driving into the theatre in one car. His son came in a separate car.
The footage also pinpoints the time when Revathi and son got separated from her husband and daughter. It then shows the events that followed thereafter, including the woman and son being carried out and police trying to revive them.
Commissioner Anand said the footage was sourced from 10,000 cameras set up at different locations.
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