Mr Owaisi said he ensures there are no stampedes during his rallies.
Hyderabad:
On being told that a woman died in a stampede during the premiere of ‘Pushpa 2’, an actor allegedly said that the “film will now be a hit”, Telangana MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi claimed in the state assembly on Saturday, teeing off a fresh controversy.
A 35-year-old woman died and her eight-year-old son was hospitalised on December 4 during a stampede-like situation at the Sandhya Theatre in Hyderabad when thousands of fans jostled to catch a glimpse of actor Allu Arjun at the premiere of the ‘Pushpa 2: The Rule’, which is a sequel to 2021’s blockbuster film “Pushpa: The Rise”.
“I do not want to take the name of that famous filmstar because I do not want to give him that importance. But sir, according to my information, that filmstar went to a theatre to see the movie. He was sitting, there was a commotion, after that the police came and said that there was a stampede, two children fell down, and a woman died. The filmstar smiled and said that the picture is going to be a hit now,” said Mr Owaisi, the leader of Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen or AIMIM.
“Two children were caught in the stampede. A woman died. Even after that he (filmstar) sat there and watched the whole movie. After that he got up but even at that time he did not care about the stampede. He sat in his car and went away waving,” said Mr Owaisi, the floor leader of AIMIM.
The filmstar, said the MLA, appears to be sending out a message that the government is “committing this oppression, it is committing atrocities”.
“But where is his humanity?” asked the MLA.
Citing his own case, the MLA pointed to his huge political rallies and the thousands who come to attend them, underlining that he always takes care that there’s no stampede.
“I also go for public meetings where thousands of people come. I make sure that there is no stampede, Sir. I make sure the security around me doesn’t push the people so that nobody gets caught in a stampede. I went for the Maharashtra election, thousands and lakhs of people were there, Sir. I made sure that nobody is pushed,” said Mr Owaisi.
“Sir, I remember once my security official’s cap had fallen down while protecting me. He had to do his duty. He was protecting me. So I went down and picked up his cap, Sir. But here you see, Sir, a woman dies, two small children were caught in the stampede, one is under coma and that gentlemen doesn’t even bother to go and ask and see them. And goes waving like that. If I am wrong, please correct me, sir,” said Mr Owaisi, slamming the unnamed actor.
‘Didn’t Have Permission’
Following the incident, the city police registered a case against actor Allu Arjun, his security team, and the theatre management under different sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the Chikkadpally police station based on the complaint by the victim’s family.
An arrest followed soon after. The actor secured bail, but had to spend a night in jail.
Upon his release from jail, Mr Arjun thanked his fans and expressed his condolences to the victim’s family. “It was an unfortunate incident. We are sorry for what happened,” he said at the time.
Despite police permission being denied, the national award-winning actor attended the theatre where ‘Pushpa 2’ was screened on December 4, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy claimed today.
Even after the death of the woman in the stampede, the actor did not leave the cinema hall, prompting the police to force him out, the Chief Minister claimed.
Mr Reddy further said the theatre management gave a letter to the police on December 2 seeking security for the visit of top actors and others on December 4. However, the police rejected the application, citing difficulties in crowd management.
Before entering the theatre and while exiting, the actor stood through the sunroof of his car and waved to the crowds leading to thousands of fans jostling to get a glimpse of him, he said.
He slammed film personalities for making a beeline for Allu Arjun’s residence to meet him after his arrest but not showing empathy to visit the boy who is undergoing treatment in hospital after suffering injuries in the incident.
“Film personalities went in queue to enquire at Allu Arjun’s home but not one of them went to enquire about the woman who died or her son who is in a coma for almost 20 days. What should we think about film industry elders? They are ready to criticise the government and me but not one of them reached out to the family,” Mr Reddy said.
The Chief Minister emphasised that there won’t be any special privileges when untoward incidents like death in a stampede happen and said the government would not spare those who troubled common people.