Allu Arjun to virtually appear before court in theatre stampede case

Hyderabad: Actor Allu Arjun is set to appear virtually before the Nampally Court later on Friday in the Sandhya Theatre stampede case. 

The actor has also filed a petition for regular bail and the same is likely to come up for hearing later in the day.

Allu Arjun was arrested on December 13 in the case registered against him in connection with the December 4 stampede at Sandhya Theatre during the premier show of ‘Pushpa 2: The Rule’ that had claimed the life of a woman.

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The Nampally Court had sent the actor to judicial custody for 14 days. His lawyers approached the High Court, which granted him interim bail the same day.

The High Court had asked him to move the trial court for regular bail. The actor, who was named accused number 11 in the case, was released from Chanchalguda Jail the next day.

As the 14-day judicial remand period ends on December 27, the actor has to present himself before the court for further proceedings.

Allu Arjun’s lawyers sought the court’s permission for his virtual appearance on the ground that his personal appearance in the court may lead to a chaotic situation at the court premises.

The actor’s lawyers Niranjan Reddy and Ashok Reddy have filed a regular bail petition. The police had interrogated Allu Arjun on December 24. He was questioned for three hours at Chikkadpally Police Station on the basis of a 10-minute video prepared by the police by compiling CCTV footage of the incident.

The police had released the video to debunk the actor’s claims about the incident.

While speaking in the Assembly on December 21, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had come down heavily on Allu Arjun for visiting the theatre without police permission and conducting a ‘roadshow’ before entering the theatre and also one while leaving the theatre after the stampede.

Hours later, Allu Arjun addressed a press conference, terming the allegations as false. He also stated he was hurt over character assassination.

Day after the stampede, the police booked the theatre management, Allu Arjun and his team for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.