Hyderabad: Hyderabad police are likely to seal Sandhya Theatre at RTC Crossroads in connection with the stampede during the special premiere of Allu Arjun starrer ‘Pushpa 2: The Rule' on Dec 4. A woman died and her son suffered grievous injuries in the stampede. Police reportedly arrived at the conclusion after finding several lapses on the theatre premises in handling moviegoers, crowd, parking and security issues.
Police had served a show-cause notice on the theatre management on Dec 12, asking why action should not be taken against them. "It is clearly visible that the management failed to provide a safe and secure environment to the public coming to the theatre," the notice, which came to light on Tuesday, said.
Failure to respond to the notices would be construed as having no explanation to offer, and orders would be passed without further notice, the notice issued by Hyderabad police commissioner CV Anand stated.
Among the many lapses, police mentioned that though Sandhya Theatre complex had a seating capacity of over 2,500 persons, there was no proper parking facility, no adequate door frame metal detectors installed, and there were no measures for crowd management. "There is no arrangement to check tickets of the public at the entrances, and Allu Arjun's private security personnel, who entered the theatre along with him, blocked the pathways, causing inconvenience to the public," an investigation officer said.
Further, the theatre management also installed signboards indicating entry and exit points for the public. The management also encouraged fans' gathering at the theatre by erecting huge flexis outside the theatre illegally. "They also failed to inform police about Allu Arjun's visit to the theatre and did not plan his seating arrangement, entry and exit points," the officer added.