Stampede after Allu Arjun visit: Police notice to theatre points to lapses – ‘illegal’ flex boards, lack of proper entry-exit signs

It came on the same day that City Police Commissioner C V Anand and Health Secretary Christina Z Chongthu visited the nine-year-old at hospital in Secunderabad.

A bulletin by the hospital said that the boy continues to be in the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) on ventilator support with minimal requirements. “The boy’s neurological functions are affected. He is in and out of coma. There is significant brain damage. The government will bear all the expenses of his treatment. It is a long haul for the boy to recover fully,” the Commissioner said.

According to police, the stampede at Sandhya Theatre occurred as thousands of fans moved towards the gate of the theatre to catch a glimpse of Telugu film star Allu Arjun, who had arrived at the venue for the premiere of his movie Pushpa 2.

The police notice to Sandhya Theatre management said there were serious lapses, including not informing police that Arjun and other cast members were to arrive there at that particular time on the night of December 4.

The notice said during the chaos caused after Arjun’s arrival, a large number of people gained unauthorised entry into the lower balcony of the theatre, and that this was what caused the stampede that led to Revathi’s death and her son’s injuries.

The notice pointed to a lack of proper signs for entry and exit at the theatre. It said the management “encouraged the gathering of fans” by erecting large flex boards outside the theatre “illegally and without prior permission”.

“The infrastructure of the theatre is not satisfactory and the lower balcony entry grill gate was not manned properly, which resulted in overcrowding,” the notice states.

Other lapses pointed out in the police notice include a lack of proper parking arrangements, and private security personnel allegedly aggravating the situation by pushing people around.

The notice states that the Hyderabad Commissioner of Police has directed Renuka Devi, the licensee of Sandhya 70MM Theatre, to explain why the Cinematograph Licence granted under Form-B should not be cancelled for the alleged lapses that led to Revathi’s death.

A day after the stampede, a case was registered at Chikkadpally police station under BNS sections 105 and 118(1) r/w 3(5).

On December 13, Allu Arjun was arrested in the case and spent the night in jail before being released early the next day after getting interim bail of four weeks from the Telangana High Court.