In a situation reminiscent of many a dramatic movie scene, police have managed to apprehend an elusive criminal after learning that he was at a late-night screening of Pushpa 2 at a multiplex in Maharashtra's Nagpur, much to the shock and amusement of audience members.
Vishal Meshram, wanted in murder and drug cases, has been on the run for 10 months. Police eventually tracked him down after they learned about his interest in the recently released film, an official from Pachpaoli police station said on Sunday.
The official revealed that the gangster has a long history of violent episodes, with about 27 cases, including two of murder and drug trafficking, aside from attacking the police. Authorities had been looking for a way to trap him for a while, with the aid of cyber surveillance and tracking his movements in a new sports utility vehicle (SUV), the official said.
After tracking him on Thursday, police deflated the vehicle's tyres outside the cinema hall, located in the central part of the city, to prevent his escape, he said.
When police personnel entered the hall during the movie's climax, Meshram was engrossed in the film. The police surrounded him and made the arrest swiftly, giving him no chance to resist.
Meshram is currently lodged in the Nagpur Central Jail and will soon be transferred to a prison in Nashik, the police said.
Pushpa 2: The Rule, the blockbuster movie starring Allu Arjun, is a sequel to 2021's Telugu film Pushpa: The Rise. It was released on December 5 with dubbed versions in Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Bengali, and Malayalam.
Meanwhile, Allu Arjun had, in a press meet, denied the allegations made against him by Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, who slammed the actor for the mishap in the Hyderabad stampede.
"It's humiliating and a character assassination. There is a lot of misinformation going on, a lot of false allegations," he told reporters.