South Africa tour of India 2019
Stampede at Sandhya Theatre: Three Arrested in Connection to Woman’s Death
Hyderabad police arrested three individuals following a tragic stampede at Sandhya Theatre during the premiere of Pushpa 2, leading to the death of a woman and injuries to others. Those arrested include M. Sandeep (37), a theatre partner; M. Nagaraju (51), the manager; and Gandhakam Vijay Chander (53), the lower balcony in-charge.
According to Central Zone DCP Akansh Yadav, the police were not informed about actor Allu Arjun’s visit to the theatre with his team. The lack of adequate security measures compounded by the crowd’s eagerness to see the actor resulted in chaos. A large number of people rushed into the lower balcony, creating a stampede that led to the death of Revathi (32) due to suffocation. Her son, Sai Teja, remains critically injured in a private hospital.
Revathi had attended the premiere with her family when the incident occurred. Police registered a case against Allu Arjun, his private security team, and Sandhya Theatre’s management under sections of the BNS, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Authorities stress the need for better planning and crowd control to prevent such tragedies in the future.
