Allu Arjun granted regular bail in theatre stampede case

A local court in Hyderabad on Friday granted regular bail to top Telugu actor Allu Arjun, an accused in the case booked over the death of a woman in a stampede during the premiere of his latest film 'Pushpa-2'.

The II Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge had earlier reserved the order for today after hearing arguments from the lawyers of the actor and the police.

The court directed the actor to furnish two sureties, who shall execute bond for Rs 50,000 each, besides his own with the same amount.

As part of the bail conditions, the 'Pushpa' star has to appear before the investigating officer every Sunday between 10 am and 1pm for a period of two months or till filing of the charge sheet, whichever is earlier.

"Petitioner shall not hamper the investigation in any manner nor shall directly or indirectly make any inducement, threat or promise to any witness so as to dissuade them from disclosing such facts to the court or to any police officer," the court said.

The petitioner shall cooperate with the investigation and he shall not make any attempt to interfere with the ongoing investigation or with the witnesses, in any manner, the court order further said.

The actor shall not change his residential address without prior intimation to the court, till disposal of the case. He was directed not to leave the country without prior permission from the court.

The actor was arrested on December 13 in connection with the incident and released from the jail on December 14 after the Telangana High Court granted him interim bail for four weeks, which would end on January 10.

Allu Arjun, who was named as accused no 11 in the case, had earlier filed the regular bail petition in court. He appeared through video conference before the court on December 27.

A 35-year-old woman died and her eight-year-old son was injured on December 4 during a stampede-like situation at the Sandhya Theatre in Hyderabad when fans jostled to have a glimpse of the actor at the premiere of 'Pushpa 2' movie.

Following the incident, the city police registered a case against Allu Arjun, his security team, and the theatre management under different sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the Chikkadpally police station based on a complaint lodged by the deceased woman's family.