The husband of the woman who died in the stampede at the premiere of the movie ‘Pushpa 2: The Rise’, says he does not blame Telugu superstar Allu Arjun for the events of December 4 and is ready to withdraw the police case filed in the matter. Bhaskar, whose son is still in coma and admitted in hospital, said he has received full support from the actor regarding the treatment of his son.
His son, Shri Tej, is a fan of Allu Arjun and it was mainly on his insistence that the family had gone to the event, he told NDTV in an exclusive interview today. The eight-year-old has been in a coma for the last 20 days. He opens his eyes sometimes, but does not yet recognise anyone. “We do not know how long the treatment will take,” he said.
The producers of ‘Pushpa-2’ have extended a financial assistance of Rs 50 lakh to the family. The cheque was handed over when producer Naveen Yerneni visited Shri Tej today.
His daughter, he said, has not been told of her mother’s death. “We have told her that she has gone to the village. She has no idea about what happened,” he said.
Allu Arjun, Bhaskar said, has been supporting them from Day 2. “We do not want to blame anybody and consider it our bad luck… we were blamed for the arrest but we do not have the strength to fight,” he said.
The actor, who was arrested on December 13, is in a 14-day judicial custody in the case filed by the family. “I am ready to withdraw the case. I was not aware of the arrest and Allu Arjun has nothing to do with the stampede in which my wife passed away,” Bhaskar had said after the arrest.
Allu Arjun has been blamed by many for the stampede at Hyderabad’s Sandhya Theatre, which the state police implied, could have happened due to his presence at the venue. Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has said the actor was present at the spot despite the denial of police permission.
He had even waved from his car’s sun-roof on his way in and out, holding a roadshow of sorts and triggering a stampede-like situation. Even after learning of the death of the woman, Revathi, the actor did not leave the cinema hall, prompting the police to force him out, the Chief Minister had said.
