Hyderabad: The tragic stampede at Sandhya Theatre that claimed the life of Revathi has been linked to the negligence of actor Allu Arjun’s personal security team, according to the Chikkadpally police investigation. Details of the incident were presented in the remand report submitted to the court.
The incident occurred on December 4, during the premiere of Pushpa 2. Revathi and her son, Sriteja, were among the attendees at the theatre, which has a seating capacity of 1,323. Tickets were reportedly sold at inflated prices, ranging from ₹1,000 to ₹1,100. At 9:40 PM, actor Allu Arjun, accompanied by his family and security personnel, arrived at the venue, causing a sudden crowd surge. The report stated that the actor’s security team attempted to manage the crowd by pushing people toward the lower balcony, resulting in Revathi and her son being knocked down and trampled. Both fell unconscious due to asphyxiation.
Revathi’s husband, Bhaskar, who had dropped their daughter at a relative’s house, returned to find his wife and son missing. After recognizing their photographs shown by the police, he rushed to the hospital, where doctors at Durga Bai Deshmukh Hospital confirmed that Revathi had succumbed to her injuries. The police report also criticized the theatre management for failing to implement adequate safety measures, noting that overcrowding was foreseeable and the lack of separate entry and exit routes intensified the risk.
18 Individuals Named in Stampede Case
The Chikkadpally police have registered a case against 18 individuals, including Sandhya Theatre owners A. Ram Reddy (68), A. Ram Reddy alias Peddaram Reddy (70), A. Sandeep (37), A. Sumit (34), A. Vinay Kumar (33), A. Ashutosh Reddy (27), M. Renuka Devi (57), and A. Aruna Reddy (56). Other accused include theatre manager M. Nagaraju (51), lower balcony in-charge G. Vijay Chander (53), actor Allu Arjun (41), his manager J. Bapla Santosh Kumar (31), security personnel Ramesh and Raju, fans association in-charges T. Vinay Kumar (30) and Mohammed Parvez (25), and the producers of Pushpa 2 from Mythri Movie Makers.
Police have confirmed that eight of the accused are absconding, and further investigation is underway.