Allu Arjun named in chargesheet in Pushpa 2 stampede case along with 22 others

According to sources, investigators claimed that the Sandhya Theatre management was primarily responsible for the fatal stampede as it failed to take adequate steps to prevent overcrowding inside the theatre. Police are also learnt to have accused the management of allowing more people in despite overcrowding, failing to inform the police about Allu Arjun’s arrival and not seeking police security arrangements.

On December 9, M Sandeep, a partner of Sandhya Theatre; M Nagaraju, the theatre’s manager; and G Vijay Chander, in-charge of the lower balcony where the stampede occurred, were arrested. The complaint in the case, in which actor Allu Arjun was also eventually arrested, was filed by Mogudampalli Bhaskar, husband of M Revathi, who died in the stampede.

Arjun was arrested on December 13 but was granted interim bail by the Telangana High Court the same day, though he spent the night at Chanchalguda Prison. He was granted regular bail on January 3 by the IX Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate at the Nampally Court Complex.

Later, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy accused Allu Arjun of continuing a roadshow despite being informed about the stampede. Subsequently, Hyderabad police released CCTV footage from Sandhya Theatre, which allegedly showed the actor being reluctant to leave the venue even after being informed about the tragedy.

Hyderabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar confirmed that the charge sheet had been filed saying that the probe established lapses in planning, crowd management, security arrangements, and coordination among the theatre management, event organisers, private security personnel, and others involved during the incident, the officer said.

Of the 23 accused in the case, 14 were arrested. Meanwhile, the nine people who got anticipatory bail were served notices.