Actor Allu Arjun freed from Hyderabad jail

Actor Allu Arjun was released from Chanchalguda jail at 6.35 a.m. on Saturday, a few hours after the Telangana High Court granted him bail for four weeks. The actor was arrested in connection with the stampede at Sandhya theatre at the premiere of ‘Pushpa-2’ leading to a woman’s death and critically injuring her son.

According to officials, the actor was in jail overnight, as the bail formalities could not be completed at night. “I respect the law. I will cooperate and do the needful. I will be there for the family in whatever way I can....we can never cover for the loss of a person, but I will be there,” he said while addressing the media and his fans on Saturday.

Calling the incident “very sad and unfortunate”, the actor expressed his condolences to the victim’s family. “They (family) went to watch the film and there was an unfortunate accident. It was totally unintentional. It was purely out of my personal control,” he said.

“I have been going to the same theatre for the last 20 years, and I have been to the same place more than 30 times. There has never been an accident like this before. This is purely unfortunate,” he said.

After his release, many from the film industry arrived at the actor’s residence to meet him. Photos and videos of actors Vijay Devarakonda, Naga Chaitanya, Sudigali Sudheer have been making rounds on social media platforms.

Among others who visited him were Pushpa 2 director Sukumar, and actors Rana Daggubati, Sharwanand Myneni, and Venkatesh Daggubati and Raghavendra Rao K. Actor Chiranjeevi’s wife Surekha Konidala also met him at the latter’s residence at Jubilee Hills.

Meanwhile, tension prevailed at the prison after one of Mr. Arjun’s fans tried to take his life by setting himself ablaze in front of the main gate.

The timely intervention of police saved U. Raju, 30, a resident of Balapur. In the video making rounds on social media, policemen can be seen dousing him with water and taking him away in a patrol vehicle.

“Sir should come out… why did you arrest him?,” the man questioned. Raju is said to have taken the extreme step demanding the actor’s immediate release.

Several other fans also gathered outside the prison protesting his arrest.

Published - December 14, 2024 09:57 pm IST