Hyderabad: A group of people, claiming to be members of Osmania University Joint Action Committee (OU-JAC), on Sunday ran vandalism at the residence of top Telugu actor Allu Arjun here, demanding justice for the woman who died in 'Pushpa-2' screening stampede here. They threw tomatoes at the house and broke flower pots and other things, while some of them climbed the compound wall, PTI reported.
They raised slogans against Allu Arjun and demanded financial assistance of one crore rupees for the victim woman's family.
A placard left by them said crores of rupees are made by making films, while those watching films are dying. The protesters were taken away by the police.
Police sources indicated that Allu Arjun was not at home when the incident happened. Police security is being provided at the actor's residence in the wake of the vandalism, they said.
Allu Arjun's father and veteran producer, Allu Aravind, said they would like to observe restraint and that the law will take its own course.
"You have seen what happened outside our house. But this is the time for us to observe restraint. We should not react to all this at present. Police came and took them away. They filed a case. Police are ready to take away if anyone comes here to cause any trouble. No one should encourage this type of incident. We will not react to this. Law will take its own course," he told reporters.
The OU-JAC was at the forefront of Telangana statehood agitation.
Meanwhile, Hyderabad city police CV Anand presented a video of the sequence of events that led to the stampede and what happened after. According to a senior police officer, the actor did not leave after the stampede, even after they requested the actor’s manager to leave and told him about the woman’s death. The officer added that when they finally approached the actor and explained the situation, the actor insisted on watching the movie first.
A woman died in the stampede at the theatre where Pushpa 2: The Rule was premiering. The woman, who was with her son, lost her life in the stampede after an unexpected crowd allegedly caused by the surprise appearance of the actor at the movie theatre.