Hyderabad: The arrest of ‘Pushpa’ star Allu Arjun from his residence on Friday morning sent shock waves in the industry and among his fans.
What further surprised them is that despite Telangana High Court granting interim bail on Thursday, the actor had to spend the night in jail as authorities pointed to technicalities.
Calling out the Hyderabad jail authorities for “not complying” with the bail order, Allu’s lawyer Ashok Reddy said that his client’s detention was ‘illegal’ and they are planning to take legal steps.
“Order copy of the high court clearly directing the Superintendent of jail to release Allu Arjun forthwith and Superintendent has directed to ensure to release but despite the order… they are not releasing him,” the actor’s lawyer told ANI on Thursday night.
Speaking to PTI after his client’s release, the lawyer said, “You should question the government and the department why they did not release 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 did not release him, they have to answer. It’s an illegal detention. We will take legal steps.”
PTI quoted jail sources as saying that there was some error in the interim bail order and the prison authorities did not receive the fresh copy of the bail until late Friday.
Jail authorities further stated that the bail copy had to be scrutinised, and thus the actor couldn’t be released on Friday.
A lower court had sent Allu to 14 days’ judicial custody after his arrest on Friday, following which the actor was granted interim bail by the High Court. The actor had filed a quash petition even before his arrest.
On December 4, Allu paid a surprise visit to the Sandhya theatres in Hyderabad to watch the screening of ‘Pushpa 2: The Rule’ with his fans.
The crowd went berserk to catch a glimpse of their favourite star, leading to a stampede which resulted in the death of a 35-year-old woman and left her minor son critically injured.
“He came to the theatre, came out from the sunroof of his vehicle and started waving to the public gathered there. This gesture attracted a lot of the public towards the theatre’s main gate. At the same time, his private security started pushing people to make way for his vehicle,” police had said.
