Allu Arjun vs Hyderabad Police: Cops Debunk Actor's Claim, Release Sandhya Theatre Stampede Footage

Allu Arjun vs Hyderabad Police In Sandhya Theatre Stampede Incident: Pushpa 2 The Rule was a highly anticipated movie and was expected to roar at the box office. The film did roar at the domestic and worldwide box office, but with fame comes controversy and it got aggravated when a female fan died during Pushpa 2 premiere on December 4. To watch the movie, Allu Arjun visited Sandhya Theatre with his family, including his wife Allu Sneha and kids, and co-star Rashmika Mandanna. Owing to his visit, the fans went berserk to catch a glimpse of the actor and in the wake to enter the theatre a stampede-like situation was created, leading to a woman's death and her son being seriously injured.

Hyderabad police claim that they informed theatre management not to invite the actor as they can't provide the force to control the crowd. They also claimed to have informed the actor about the death of a woman while he was watching the movie and asked him to leave immediately. However, on Saturday, during the press conference, the Surya actor rubbished the claims and said that it was theatre management who came up to him to inform him how the crowd was going uncontrollably outside the theatre. Owing to this, he left the movie in between with his wife Allu Sneha.

Well, the war of words doesn't end here, to claim they are right, Hyderabad police on Sunday released a 10-minute video showing how the actor's security team pushed the fans and mistreated them.

What does the video released by Hyderabad police show?

In the video, Allu Arjun can be seen escorted out by the deputy commissioner of police (DCP) the assistant commissioner of police (ACP), and other police officers, contrary to his claim that he left the spot when the theatre manager informed him about overcrowding. The video has been highlighted with the timestamps indicating that the actor was in the theatre till midnight. The clip also displays the letter they had sent to theatre management denying them permission to invite Allu Arjun to attend the Pushpa 2 screening. Sharing the video, they wrote, "Judge for yourself."

“I cannot say anything about the progress of the case. For now, we have compiled a 10 minute video after collecting the footage from television channels and social media platforms,” said Hyderabad Police Commissioner, CV Anand.

He further mentioned, "In the recent incident of Sandhya theatre, we saw 40-50 bouncers and how reckless they are. There was public, police and everyone but they pushed everyone…They think only about the VIP. It is a warning to every bouncer that if they misbehave with the police, strict actions will be taken against them…The behaviour of the bouncer is the responsibility of the VIPs. They cannot blame the bouncer. The liability is on the VIP only," per ANI.

Allu Arjun's clarification on the theatre fiasco

Addressing the claims, Allu Arjun reiterated that it's "false" that he went to the theatre despite being denied permission by Hyderabad police and conducted a road show after the premiere. He said, "The theatre management had already sorted it out with the police. There was no road show or procession, I only came out of my car to wave at fans in the hope they would let my car pass."

He further clarified that no police had met him in the theatre or forced him to leave the theatre. The actor only left because the theatre management warned him about overcrowding. "I only found out what happened the next day,” and added, "My wife and children were with me. If I knew what happened, wouldn’t I take my children with me when I left? I left only with my wife. I love my kids; I would never do that to another child.”