Hyderabad theatre death: Allu Arjun walks out of prison after one night

Hyderabad: After being arrested in relation to the death of a woman in a stampede here during the premiere of his most recent film, actor Allu Arjun was freed from the jail where he had spent the night on Saturday morning.

Even though the Telangana High Court granted Arjun release, he was forced to spend Friday night behind bars because the authorities did not obtain a copy of the bail order until late last night.

"He has been released," Ashok Reddy, his counsel, told reporters at the Chanchalguda prison.

After reaching home, Arjun thanked his followers and others across the country for their love and support and said he is a law-abiding citizen and respects the law, PTI reported.

“I'll cooperate with them and I'll do the needful. And very importantly, I would like to give my condolences once again to the family. It ( death of a woman) is very very unfortunate,” he told the media.

On his arrest, the 42-year-old actor said he believed in the law and respected it.

“When the law is taking its course, I should not deal with the case, so I should not talk about it. From a legal standpoint, I would not like to talk about it,” he said.

Arjun said it was a challenging time for his family.

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

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 the complaint lodged by the deceased woman's family.

Reiterating that he would support the family of the deceased, the actor said he has been going to theatres to watch films for the past 20 years.

From the prison, the star directly drove to his family production house, Geetha Arts and spent some time there. After reaching home, he was hugged by his son, wife and other family members.

Arjun was driven out through the Prison Academy gate at around 6.45 am, sources said.

Ashok Reddy claimed that the prison authorities did not release the actor despite having got the High Court order copy.

"You should question the government and the department why they have not released the accused. The High Court order is very specific. Forthwith, the moment you (prison authorities) receive the order, ( they should) release him. Despite the clear order, they have not released, they have to answer. This is an illegal detention. We will take legal steps,” Reddy said.

According to the counsel, Allu Arjun was kept in the jail as a "special category prisoner".

The 'Pushpa' actor was arrested from his residence on Friday morning unfolding a day-long dramatic turn of events.

After the arrest, Allu Arjun was produced in a local court which remanded him to 14 days' judicial custody. However, his lawyers moved the HC and secured interim bail.

Arjun was lodged in Chanchalguda prison shortly before the HC spelt its order.

Meanwhile, police stepped up security outside the star's city residence anticipating a surge of fans post his release.