WARANGAL: Two were electrocuted and 18 others sustained burns reportedly due to a short-circuit at a cinema screening Magadheera, the muchpublicised film of megastar Chiranjeevi’s son Ramcharan Teja, in Kazipet tonight.
The incident occurred around 9.30 p.m. at the booking counter of mini-Bhavani Talkies where scores of people were standing in a queue for the second-show tickets.
An electric pole stands right next to the counter which is actually an asbestos shed.
Power is supplied from the pole to the theatre through a wire that passes from above the counter. Eye-witnesses alleged that a wire was on the ground as well.
M Praveen Kumar and G Ganesh were the first to receive the shock. Those, who were in contact with them, followed next. Many in the queue collapsed and all hell broke loose.
Praveen, a native of Hanamkonda, was a final-year MCA student of the National Institute of Technology in Warangal. Both Praveen and Ganesh were rushed to a nearby private hospital where they were declared brought dead.
The 18 others were admitted to the MGM Hospital. The condition of two of them is said to be critical. Warangal Superintendent of Police Shahnawaz Qasim and other officials rushed to the theatre and sealed it. Surprisingly, though utter chaos prevailed outside and two were dead, the second-show was in progress by the time the SP arrived.
The police registered a case against the theatre management. “Action will be initiated against the theatre management if they were found to be negligent,” the SP said.
Ramcharan Teja’s Magadheera has already hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
The film-makers were first accused of lifting a line from a folk song penned by Vangapandu Prasada Rao. On Friday, a writer, Chary, alleged that the film was a carbon copy of his novel Chanderi.