Celebrities too responsible for crowd control: Telangana CM Revanth Reddy to Telugu filmdom amid Pushpa 2 stampede row
Hyderabad/IBNS: Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy told the representatives of the Telugu film industry that crowd control is as much celebrities' responsibility as it is of the police, amid the row over fatal stampede during Allu Arjun starrer Pushpa 2: The Rule's premiere show in the city's Sandhya Theatre on December 4 night, media reports said.
Reddy refused to tone down his stance during a key meeting between the CM and Telugu industry representatives including Allu Arjun's father Allu Aravind.
Directors like Koratala Siva, Anil Ravipudi, K Raghavendra Rao were among the representatives who attended the meeting.
Actors as popular as Allu Arjun had to work with police in managing the crowd, Reddy said in reference to the December 4 stampede that killed one woman whose son was critical but is now recovering in hospital.
Reddy has temporarily banned all premiere and benefit film shows besides warning the private security personnel of top actors like Allu Arjun.
The CM's warning came in the backdrop of the Hyderabad Police's claim that the private security personnel had misbehaved with them during the stampede.
Police claimed the private security personnel's aggressive actions further vexed the incident, NDTV reported.
Allu Arjun, who was arrested after the stampede but was released on bail, was quizzed by police earlier this week.
The husband of the woman who died in the stampede at the premiere said he does not blame Allu Arjun for the tragedy and is ready to withdraw the police case filed in the matter.
Bhaskar, whose son is still in a coma and was admitted to hospital, said the actor has been fully supporting his son's treatment.
His son, Shri Tej, is a fan of Allu Arjun and it was on his insistence that the family went to the premiere, Bhskar told NDTV in an exclusive interview on Monday.
Allu Arjun had grieved the woman's death and announced a monetary support of Rs. 25 lakh for the family.
Meanwhile, tensions mounted on Sunday evening after a group of people, who claimed themselves to be students of Osmania University, barged into the house of southern star Allu Arjun in Hyderabad and damaged it.
They reportedly entered the house of the actor during the protest and demanded one crore as compensation to the family of the woman.
According to reports, Allu Arjun was not present in the residence when the attackers entered it.