Boy Injured In Pushpa 2 Screening Stampede Critical, On Ventilator Support

The child, who was injured in the December 4 stamped at Hyderabad's Sandhya Theatre ahead of the premier show of Pushpa 2, remains critical and on ventilator support.

As per a health bulletin released on Tuesday by Hyderabad's KIMS Cuddles Hospital, eight-year-old Sri Tej is under intensive care as his neurological condition shows no improvement.

According to doctors, he was on mechanical ventilation with minimal support of oxygen and pressures. Further a tracheostomy, a procedure where a pipe is inserted surgically into the windpipe to facilitate breathing, is being considered to wean him off ventilator. "His fever is reducing and on minimal inotropes, his vital parameters are stable. He is tolerating feeds well," said a statement from the hospital.

The hospital statement said the child was brought with low oxygen saturation and irregular breathing on December 4. While his breathing support was removed on December 10, he had to be intubated again on December 12 amid respiratory distress.

Meanwhile, Hyderabad City Police Commissioner CV Anand, after visiting the hospital, said Sri Tej was brain-dead due to lack of breathing during the stampede and that it would take a long time to recover.

A stampede occurred at the Sandhya Theatre on December 4 during the premier show which was attended by Pushpa 2's lead actor Allu Arjun. As large crowds descended on the theatre to catch a glimpse of the actor, 35-year-old Mogudampalli Revathi and her son Sri Tej were suffocated. Police performed CPR on them and rushed them to a hospital, where Revathi was declared dead.

Last week, Allu Arjun was arrested in the stampede case, but was released a day later after Telangana High Court granted him interim bail. Police have booked theatre management, Allu Arjun and his team for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.