'2025 IS THE YEAR OF AI': AICTE LOOKS TO SHAPE INDIA AS A GLOBAL LEADER

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has announced 2025 as the "Year of Artificial Intelligence (AI)" to shape India as a global leader in AI.

- Sanjay Maurya

HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad police on Tuesday questioned Telugu actor Allu Arjun for nearly four hours about his role in the Sandhya Theatre stampede, where a woman was killed and her eight-year-old son injured during the premiere of his film Pushpa 2: The Rule, said people aware of the matter.

He was asked 20 questions between 11.05 am and 2.47 pm, police officers aware of the questioning said, adding that he answered them and "remained cooperating most".

Arjun was accompanied by his father Allu Aravind, father-in-law Chandrasekhar Reddy and producer Bunny Vasu.

Hyderabad (central) deputy commissioner of police Akshansh Yadav, Chikkadpally assistant commissioner of police Ramesh Goud and senior inspector K.V. Nageshwar Rao interrogated the actor, who has been in the eye of the storm since the December 4 stampede in the city.

On December 4, a 35-year-old woman died and her eight-year-old son was injured in a stampede at the Sandhya Theatre in Hyderabad during the screening of Pushpa 2: The Rule, which was attended by thousands.

The incident has led to a war of words between Arjun and Telangana chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, with the latter accusing him of attending the screening despite police denying permission -- a charge denied by the actor who called the incident "purely an accident".