Three arrested in connection with death of woman during 'Pushpa 2' screening

HYDERABAD: Three persons associated with a film theatre here were on Sunday arrested in connection with the case registered over the death of a woman due to asphyxiation as crowds jostled at the theatre during the premiere show of actor Allu Arjun's "Pushpa 2: The Rule", police said.

A 35-year-old woman died and her eight-year-old son has been hopitalised in the incident which took place on December 4 night when a large number of fans thronged the Sandhya theatre here to have a glimpse of the actor.

The city police have registered a case against Allu Arjun, his security team, and the theatre management under sections 105 and 118(1) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the Chikkadpally police station based on the complaint lodged by the deceased woman's family.

During the course of the investigation, the police on Sunday arrested the three accused--one of the owners of the theatre, its senior manager and lower balcony incharge (at the theatre), a release from Hyderabad Police said.

According to the police, a huge crowd had gathered at the theatre to watch the movie and have a glimpse of the movie's lead actors coming to the theatre. However, there was no intimation from the side of the theatre management or actors team that they would be visiting the theatre.

"The theatre management did not make any additional provisions regarding security to manage the crowd nor was there any separate entry or exit for the actors team though the theatre management had information about their arrival," it said.

Around 9.30 pm on December 4, Allu Arjun came to the theatre with his personal security and people gathered there tried to enter the theatre with him.

"His (Allu Arjun) personal security team started pushing the public, which further aggravated the situation as there was already a huge gathering at the theatre. Taking advantage of this situation along with the actor and his security team, a large number of people entered inside the lower balcony area.

"In this, one Revathi and her son felt suffocated due to a large public influx and immediately the police personnel who were on duty pulled them out of the public from the lower balcony and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on her son and immediately shifted them to a hospital, where the doctor informed that she was dead," it said.

The boy is now undergoing treatment in a Super Speciality Hospital, police added.