Theatre stampede: NHRC issues show cause notice to Telangana Chief Secy

Hyderabad, Aug 6 (PTI) The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Wednesday issued show cause notice to the Telangana government Chief Secretary as to why it should not recommend a compensation of Rs five lakh to the next of kin of the woman, who died in a stampede during the screening of actor Allu Arjun's film Pushpa-2 last year.

The action came while dealing with a complaint lodged by advocate Rama Rao Immaneni, who alleged that lathi charge by the police and lack of necessary arrangements when Allu Arjun entered the theatre, resulted in death of the woman Revathi and injuries to her children.

Following the Commission's direction, the city police submitted an action taken report on March 3, 2025.

During the course of enquiry, it was revealed that permission for the event was rejected and Allu Arjun did not have permission for a road show and that the allegations of lathi charge were false, the report said.

The report said arrangements were made for crowd control as professionally done for new movie releases despite the rejection of permission.

The inadequate infrastructure at the theatre, including limited parking, entry and exit points, led to the crowd gathering and subsequent tragedy.

The officers who were at bandobust duty on the occasion exhibited exceptional proactive response in managing and controlling the unexpected crowd and also saved the life of the woman's son and shifted him to a hospital, it said.

However, the Commission observed that it fails to understand why the police allowed the crowd, the accused actor, theatre management to gather at the place for the event which did not have the permission.

The police should have taken legal action against accused actor, management at the very first occurrence, prior to incident itself, for breaking the law and attending the unlawful events, the Commission said.

Observing that the police might have foreseen the present accident, which compelled them to deny permission, the Commission sought an additional report from the police.

The police reported to the Commission on July 14, 2025 that permission was granted on December 4, 2024 for the pre-release screening of Pushpa-2 at four theatres at RTC X Roads in the city.

The report said police denied permission for the actor's visit to the cinema theatre citing public safety and crowd control concerns.

The theatre management was informed in writing and advised to notify the actor and production team accordingly, the police report said.

Due to the anticipated large crowd in a densely populated area, it was not possible to control or restrict the public movement prior to the crowd gathering, it said.

The report pointed out that despite prior security arrangements by police, an unexpected crowd surge occurred. Officers managed the situation promptly, though legal action at the time was not feasible, it said.

Subsequently, on December 5, 2024, a case was registered against the theatre management, actor Allu Arjun, and his security staff. Ten people, including the actor, were arrested. Arjun secured bail in the case.

The Commission has considered the report and noted that "there was negligence and lapse in maintaining public order on the part of police authorities in providing adequate assistance and ensure the safety when it was clear that there will be a huge crowd gathering".

The Commission issued a show cause notice to the Chief Secretary as to why it should not recommend compensation to the kin of the deceased. It also issued a direction to the city police to ensure fair investigation in the matter. PTI SJR VVK SJR KH