Popular actor in southern India is freed on bail after spending a night in jail in a stampede case

A popular actor in southern India has been released from jail on bail, a day after he was arrested by police in connection with a stampede that led to the death of a woman at the premiere of his movie earlier this month

NEW DELHI — A popular actor in southern India was released from jail on bail on Saturday, a day after he was arrested by police in connection with a stampede that led to the death of a woman at the premiere of his movie earlier this month.

A 35-year-old woman died and her 8-year-old son was critically injured in the stampede, which occurred during the screening of Allu Arjun’s release for “Pushpa 2: The Rule” in southern Telangana state’s Hyderabad city on Dec. 4.

Arjun was arrested after the woman’s husband filed a case against him, his security team and the theater’s management for not informing police of the actor’s plan to attend the screening, which resulted in a larger-than-expected crowd. Police charged the actor, his security team and the theater’s management staff with culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

Police have already arrested the theater’s owner and two of his employees in connection with the case.

A local court on Friday ordered the actor to spend 14 days in jail, but within hours the Telangana High Court granted him bail. However, the actor had to spend the night in jail because prison authorities did not receive a copy of the bail until late Friday, the Press Trust of India reported.

The accident happened after the 41-year-old actor made a surprise appearance at a local theater where the movie was being screened. As his fans surged toward the venue, the theater’s main gate collapsed, resulting in the stampede.

The actor did not comment on the police charges or his arrest. But shortly after the accident, Arjun wrote on the social platform X that he was “heartbroken by the tragic incident.” He later announced financial assistance of $29,000 for the woman’s family and promised to take care of the medical expenses for her injured son.

Deadly stampedes are relatively common in India, where large crowds gather in small areas with shoddy infrastructure and few crowd safety measures.