Allu Arjun attended 'Pushpa-2' screening despite police saying no: Revanth Reddy, actor refutes
Hyderabad (PTI): Despite police permission being denied, top Telugu actor Allu Arjun visited the theatre here where 'Pushpa-2' was screened on December 4, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy charged on Saturday. However, the allegation was refuted by the top actor.
Even after the death of a woman in a stampede, the actor did not leave the cinema hall, prompting the police to force him out, CM alleged.
Responding to the issue after AIMIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi raised it in the Assembly, Reddy, referring to videos in circulation, found fault with Allu Arjun for holding a roadshow and waving to the crowds in spite of the heavy crowd.
Reddy further said the theatre management submitted a letter to the police on December 2 seeking security for the visit of top actors and others on December 4. However, the police rejected the application, citing difficulties in crowd management and the fact that the theatre had only one entry and exit.
Hours after Reddy slammed the actor, Allu Arjun, in a hurriedly held press conference, refuted the allegations saying, it was not true and in fact, the police were clearing the way for him and he reached the venue under their directions.
He, without referring to anyone, also refuted the allegations that he held a roadshow waving to the crowd.
"Had there not been permission, they would have told us to return and I am a law-abiding citizen. I would’ve followed that. Nothing of that sort of information was given to me. I was following as per their guidance and it was not a roadshow. There was no procession. It was just a crowd a few meters away from the theatre, he said, adding it was the police who were clearing the way for him and he reached the venue under their directions.
CM Reddy alleged that before entering the theatre and exiting, the actor stood through the sunroof of his car and waved to the crowds in a roadshow, leading to thousands of fans jostling to get a glimpse of him.
Reddy said thousands of fans gathered when the actor reached as there are several theatres at the locality.
The actor's private security pushed aside the fans, which led to a stampede-like situation, the CM said.
Reddy, who narrated the incident, said the theatre management did not initially allow a police official to meet the actor to convey him to leave the place in view of the prevailing situation. However, the official reached the actor and asked him to leave, as the crowd would not go unless he left. The actor did not budge.
A senior police official, who then reached the spot, told the actor to leave the place immediately, failing which, he would have to be taken to the police station as the situation was out of control.
The senior official forced the actor out of the theatre. Even while leaving, the actor again waved to the crowd. "What type of person (the actor was)", Reddy asked.
The actor allegedly did not behave properly with the police when the latter reached his residence to inform him about the case against him, he said.
The CM slammed film personalities for making a beeline to Allu Arjun's residence to meet him after his arrest but not showing empathy to visit the boy who is undergoing treatment in hospital and faced a brain dead-like situation after suffering injuries in the incident.
"I appeal to the top film personalities that they should not be inhuman," he said.
"When he (Allu Arjun) was taken to police station for a day, the high court also accepted lunch motion petition and gave him bail. Our people are saying release him at 12 in the night. Where is the provision (to release at midnight)?," he asked.
The CM also said he is continuously monitoring the boy's health condition.
The film industry can take incentives, subsidies from the government but there won't be any special privileges when untoward incidents like death in a stampede happen and said the government would not spare those who troubled common people, he said.
Reddy attacked BRS working president K T Rama Rao, without naming him, for his criticism against the government when Allu Arjun was arrested.
State Cinematography Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy spoke against allowing 'benefit shows' in the night without permissions. He announced Rs 25 lakh assistance from his side to the family of the deceased, besides the government taking care of the boy's health.
Meanwhile, the eight-year-old boy, who is undergoing treatment at a private super-speciality hospital here, is maintaining his vital parameters well on his own without any external support of oxygen or inotropes.
"He continues to tolerate nasogastric feeds well. He had recurrence of intermittent fever spikes for which some investigations have been sent. His neurological condition is static," the KIMS Cuddles, said in a release.
A 35-year-old woman died and her eight-year-old son was injured on December 4 during a stampede-like situation at the Sandhya Theatre in Hyderabad when thousands of fans jostled to have a glimpse of the actor at the premiere of the blockbuster 'Pushpa 2'.
Following the incident, the city police registered a case against Allu Arjun, his security team, and the theatre management under different sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the Chikkadpally police station based on the complaint lodged by the deceased woman's family.
Allu Arjun was arrested by the city police in connection with the death of the woman on December 13. The Telangana High Court granted him a four-week interim bail on the same day and he was released from a prison here on December 14 morning.
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Stampedes in Nigeria leave at least 32 dead in rush to get Christmas gifts
Abuja, Dec 22: The death toll from stampedes during two Christmas charity events in Nigeria has increased from 13 to 32, police said Sunday. The victims, including at least four children, collapsed during crowd surges as people grew desperate for food items while the country grapples with the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation.
The dead included 22 people in southeastern Anambra state's Okija town, where a philanthropist on Saturday organised a food distribution, local police spokesman Tochukwu Ikenga said. Ten others died in the capital, Abuja, during a church-organised similar charity event.
Police said they were investigating the two incidents, only days after another stampede in which several children were killed.
Africa's most populous country is seeing a growing trend by local organisations, churches and individuals to organise charity events ahead of Christmas to ease economic hardship caused by a cost-of-living crisis.
Witnesses of the Abuja stampede told The Associated Press there was a crowd surge at one of the church gates, as dozens tried to enter the premises at around 4 am, hours before gift items were to be shared.
Some of them, including older people, waited overnight to get food, said Loveth Inyang, who rescued one baby from the crush.
The stampedes prompted growing calls for authorities to enforce safety measures at such events. Nigerian police also mandated that organisers obtain prior permission.
