A star-studded premiere of Pushpa 2: The Rule turned into a nightmare when a stampede outside Sandhya Theatre in Hyderabad resulted in the death of a 39-year-old woman and left her nine-year-old son critically injured.
The tragic incident occurred Wednesday evening as thousands gathered to see the film’s lead actor, Allu Arjun, at the highly anticipated screening.
The premiere, originally planned as a glamorous event, quickly turned chaotic as huge crowds gathered at the theatre to catch a glimpse of Allu Arjun, who was accompanied by music director Devi Sri Prasad. The excitement among fans was intense, with many pushing and shoving to get closer to the stars. However, the overwhelming number of people caused a disaster when the theatre’s main gate collapsed under the strain of the crowd.
Witnesses and police reports indicate that the situation rapidly escalated as people tried to force their way in, with exiting moviegoers getting caught in the chaos. The pressure became unbearable for the venue, resulting in a stampede.
Revathi, who died in the incident, was at the premiere with her family, including her husband and two children. The family, hoping for a memorable night out, found themselves trapped in the surge of people.
According to preliminary police investigations, Revathi and her son were suffocated and fell unconscious as they struggled to enter the theatre, apparently pushed by the crowd. Tragically, despite immediate efforts to revive them, Revathi was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.
Her son, who was also severely injured, was rushed to a nearby private hospital, where he remains in critical condition. Authorities have yet to confirm his exact condition, but reports indicate that he is undergoing intensive treatment for his injuries.
As the situation worsened, the police had to resort to using batons to break up the crowd and bring the chaos under control. However, despite their attempts, the stampede had already claimed a life. Thousands of fans had gathered not only for the film screening but to see members of the film’s production team, including Arjun and Prasad, creating a dangerous environment with insufficient crowd control measures.
While police reinforcements were called in to prevent further escalation, the damage had already been done.
According to police, the theatre management failed to make proper arrangements for crowd control, and there was no prior information about the actor's arrival. The absence of clear guidelines for managing such a large crowd played a significant role in the chaos that unfolded outside the theatre.
A senior police official stated that had there been better arrangements or any form of crowd management in place, the tragedy might have been avoided. He noted that unfortunately, the excitement of the crowd had turned into uncontrollable mayhem.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Dr. Sreelekshmi P/MSM)