Death of a fan: Police blames film unit, Junior NTR mourns

Hyderabad, March 18: During the audio-release of much anticipated Telugu action-drama "Baadshah" a youth died in a stampede in Hyderabad on Sunday, March 17.

Police identified the victim as Rajendra Prasad a.k.a. Raju, who was trampled to death as huge crowd tried to gain entry into the D. Rama Naidu Studios at Nanakramguda, where the audio release function was organised.

Police said he was suffocated to death in stampede. Several others were also injured in the melee, and they were admitted to a hospital for treatment.

The star of the film junior NTR mourned the death of the youth."I am saddened to know that I lost one of my brothers today. I may be the only son to my parents, but all my fans are equivalent to my brothers and sisters. This was supposed to an evening to enjoy but unfortunately it has turned sad," Junior NTR said at the event.

"I give my word amidst all of you that I will stand by the family that has lost a member this evening. I request everybody to be cautious and request not to indulge in such madness again," he added.

Even the producer of the film Bandla Ganesh promised that he will donate Rs 5 lakh to Raju's family.

But, police blamed the film unit for the tragedy.

A senior police officer told journalists that they had warned the film unit not to conduct the event at the venue, as it would be impossible to manage such a large crowd in the venue. Moreover, the venue had faced similar problems earlier.

However, with organisers insisting that they would have enough of their own volunteers to handle the crowds, permission was ultimately granted.

Madhapur Deputy Commissioner of Police T. Yoganand, said that a case would be booked after investigation

The Tollywood film "Baadshah" is directed by Srinu Vaitla. It stars Kajal Agarwal, Navdeep, Prakash Raj, Ritu Varma, Ajay, Brahmanandam, Vennela Kishore and Chandra Mohan.

OneIndia News