Hyderabad: Telugu actor Allu Arjun had attended the premiere of his movie Pushpa 2 despite refusal of police permission and after the stampede-like situation, refused to leave, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has said. A video has now emerged of the police escorting the actor out, backing his claims that the police had to eject him from the theatre.
The stampede at Hyderabad's Sandhya Theatre, which took place on December 4, has claimed the life of a woman. Her eight-year-old son is still in coma and is admitted at a city hospital.
"We have nothing personally against Allu Arjun or any other individual. The promotion of a film is not as important as the safety of people. They are heroes in films, but on the ground, they should also understand the problems of society," said Telangana Police chief Jitender.
Yesterday, the Chief Minister had told the assembly that the superstar attended the premiere of his movie 'Pushpa 2' even though the police had refused permission.
He had even waved from his car's sun-roof on his way in and out, holding a roadshow of sorts and triggering a stampede-like situation, in which a 35-year-old woman died and her son was critically injured, Mr Reddy said.
Even after the death of the woman, the actor did not leave the cinema hall, prompting the police to force him out, the Chief Minister had said.
Allu Arjun has contradicted the claims. "Permission was sought from the theatre management. The police cleared the way so I went in. I am a law-abiding citizen. I would have left if I were told that there is no permission," he has said.
"It was not a roadshow or procession. I just waved to people and went inside theatre. No policeman approached me to leave. My own manager told me that there is an uncontrollable crowd and asked me to leave," said the actor.