Actor Allu Arjun, who was charged after a 35-year-old woman died during a stampede at a Hyderabad theatre during the premiere show of 'Pushpa 2: The Rule' last month, was granted regular bail by a local court on Friday.
The actor was arrested on December 13 but was released a day later after he was granted interim bail by the Telangana High Court for four weeks, which would end on January 10.
On Friday, the Nampally court in Hyderabad granted regular bail to Mr Arjun and directed him to furnish two sureties of Rs 50,000 each. The Second Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge also asked him to appear before the investigating officer on Sunday, his lawyer Ashok Reddy told reporters, according to PTI.
The woman died and her nine-year-son was hospitalised due to asphyxiation after a huge crowd jostled at the theatre to catch a glimpse of Mr Arjun, when he arrived with music director Devi Sri Prasad on the evening of December 4. Police Commissioner C V Anand said it is suspected that the boy had suffered brain damage due to oxygen deprivation.
A day after the stampede, Hyderabad Police registered a case against the actor, his security team and the management of Sandhya Theatre under sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 118(1) (voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Speaking in the Assembly on December 21, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had come down heavily on the actor for allegedly visiting the theatre without police permission and conducting a "roadshow" before and after his exit from the premises.
Mr Arjun, however, said the "allegations against me are humiliating" and said he was hurt over the "character assassination".
"A lot of misinformation is going around. I am not trying to blame anyone, any department or political leader... It is humiliating and feels like character assassination. Please don't judge me," he told reporters, adding that he was "apologetic for what happened".
"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 added.
At a meeting with Telugu film industry's biggest names, including Mr Arjun's father Allu Arvind and Dil Raju, the Chair of the state's Film Development Corporation, the Chief Minister asserted there will be no compromise in ensuring law and order. He also said that crowd-control is as much the responsibility of celebrities as it is that of the police, and that actors, when appearing in public, had to work with the cops to maintain law and order.
Mr Arjun had earlier offered Rs 25 lakh and the film's director Rs 5 lakh as compensation to the victim's family. The actor's father later announced an additional sum of Rs 2 crore.
The boy's father, meanwhile, told NDTV that he was ready to withdraw the case against the actor.
