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Allu Arjun quizzed for 4 hours in Hydrabad stampede case
The Hyderabad police on Tuesday questioned popular Telugu actor Allu Arjun for nearly four hours over his role in the Sandhya Theatre stampede
The Hyderabad police on Tuesday questioned popular Telugu actor Allu Arjun for nearly four hours over his role in the Sandhya Theatre stampede, where a woman was killed and her nine-year-old son injured during the premiere of his film Pushpa 2: The Rule, said people familiar with the matter.
Allu was asked 20 questions between 11.05am and 2.47pm, said police officers aware of the matter, adding that he answered few of them and “remained silent during most”.
He was accompanied by his father Allu Aravind, father-in-law K Chandrasekhar Reddy and producer Bunny Vasu.
Deputy commissioner of police, Hyderabad (central zone), Akshansh Yadav, Chikkadpally assistant commissioner of police, Ramesh Kumar, and senior inspector Raju Yadav interrogated the actor, who has been in the eye of the storm since the December 4 stampede in the city.
A 35-year-old woman died and her eight-year-old son was injured in a stampede at the Sandhya Theatre in Hyderabad during the screening of Pushpa 2: The Rule, which was attended by Arjun. The incident has led to a war of wards between Arjun and Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy, with the latter accusing him of attending the screening despite police denying permission –– a charge rejected by the actor who called the incident “purely an accident”.
Allu was arrested on December 13, eightdays after a case was filed against him and 10others. He was, however, granted interim bail for four weeks by the Telangana high court that evening, after a local court in Hyderabad sent him to 14days in judicial custody. The interim bail ends on January 10.
The 42-year-old was questioned at the Chikkadpally police station amid thick security cover.
“Police showed him the 10-minute video related to the stampede incident which they had released to the media on Sunday. They questioned Allu Arjun based on the footage. Police also inquired about certain points the actor had mentioned during a press meet,” said an officer aware of the matter. They further told the actor that he would be called again for scene recreation.
Some of the questions Allu was asked included: Who told him that police had given permission for coming to Sandhya Theatre and conducting road show, whether he was aware of the woman’s death when was in the theatre, which agency the bouncers who had accompanied him belong to and how many bouncers he had hired, why the bouncers attacked fans and police personnel there and why he didn’t oblige to the police request to leave the theatre.
After questioning, he returned to his residence in Jubilee Hills, where too the police had amped up security cover.
Meanwhile, Telangana Film Development Corporation (TGFDC) chairman and producer Dil Raju announced that they would extend support to the family of Revathi, who lost her life in the stampede.
