Allu Arjun's arrest; action without foresight

Although the Magistrate's Court gave the green light to the Telangana Police's move to arrest and jail Telugu superstar Allu Arjun without even issuing a notice, the High Court intervened and avoided the arrest in a timely manner. Otherwise, the protest by the actor's fans and the police action to counter it would have resulted in more lives being lost. Allu Arjun is an actor who has fans all over India. The second part of his super hit film 'Pushpa' is currently being screened across the country. The collection of the film has crossed one thousand crores. Allu Arjun and his family attended the premiere show of the film at Sandhya Theater in Hyderabad on the night of December 4th. In the ensuing stampede, 35-year-old Revathi died and her nine-year-old son Sriteja was seriously injured.

The Nampally Magistrate's Court accepted the prosecution's argument that it was the way Allu Arjun's security personnel handled the audience that led to the situation and the police had to resort to lathi-charge due to this. The police had imposed charges including involuntary manslaughter which could lead to imprisonment for five to ten years. However, the Telangana High Court, granting interim bail to Allu Arjun for four weeks, said that the case of homicide does not exist and asked whether the actor should have been arrested in this manner. The actor has promised financial assistance of Rs 25 lakh to the family of the deceased Revathi. Allu Arjun is not directly involved in Revathi's death. The failure of the police and the Telangana government in controlling the fans is what led to the death of the woman.

The actor had come forward to help Revathi's family in that unfortunate incident. The central government has also responded by asking what mistake Allu Arjun made. In the last election, Allu had campaigned in Andhra Pradesh for Jaganmohan Reddy's party YSRCP. Congress Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's hatred towards Allu Arjun was blamed for the dramatic arrest. The Chief Minister's response that film stars are not above the law, clarifies this. Allu Arjun was released from the Chanchalguda Central Jail early only yesterday morning as the High Court's bail order was delayed.

Allu Arjun's arrest has sparked nationwide protests. Audiences naturally go into a frenzy when they get a chance to meet the superstar they adore on screen. Even though the police should control all that, the superstars should also make preparations before such visits. The stars may not be able to control what's happening as they are visiting the theatres to promote the film. However, actors should also be careful to make such situations as conflict-free as possible. No one should knowingly cause a crisis. Cinema is the art that attracts people the most. Moreover, it is also a multi-crore industry. Vigilance on everyone's part is required.