Hyderabad Police have warned of strict action against anyone found posting false videos or information suggesting that the stampede at Sandhya Theatre took place before the arrival of ‘Pushpa’ star Allu Arjun on the fateful night of 4 December.
Hyderabad Police have already posted a ten-minute-long video depicting the sequence of events leading to the stampede, which resulted in the death of a woman, Revathi, while leaving her nine-year-old son in critical condition in the hospital.
Meanwhile, Allu Aravind, the actor’s father, announced that they would be giving Revathi’s family Rs 2 crore, including Rs 1 crore from Arjun and Rs50 lakh each from the producer and director of the film, ‘Pushpa’.
Social media was flooded by posts on Wednesday claiming that CCTV footage from Sandhya Theatre showed that Revathi had died before the actor arrived at the scene at 9:40 pm. This prompted the city police to issue a stern warning to such accounts. In a post on the social media platform ‘X’, the city police warned: “We will take strict action if anyone posts false information or videos on social media that mislead people about the Sandhya Theatre stampede incident. It has come to our attention that some people posted false videos that a stampede had taken place before Allu Arjun arrived.”
Both Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s statement in the Legislative Assembly and the video released by Hyderabad Police confirm that Allu Arjun’s arrival added to the chaos, with his bouncers pushing away people and police personnel alike to ensure his smooth entry into the venue through the single entrance, which also served as the exit. The over-enthusiastic fans and the thoughtlessness of the bouncers who pushed people contributed to the crush that claimed Revathi’s life. The video clearly showed Revathi being carried away through the grill door well after Arjun had arrived.
The police stated, “However, it has come to our attention that some people have deliberately posted videos on social media that were created to mislead people and show that a stampede had occurred before Arjun’s arrival. We will take legal action against those who deliberately spread such false propaganda and fabrications on social media.”
While urging the people to come forward with additional information, the Hyderabad Police appealed, “We urge the public not to believe false propaganda on social media.” Both the Chief Minister and the Hyderabad Police faced criticism from detractors for the statement in the Assembly and the video even as investigations continued. However, social media posts contributed to the confusion and forced them to act. Allu Arjun also came under fire for addressing a press conference while out on bail, claiming attempts at his character assassination.