"Pushpa 2" screening becomes real-life thriller as police nab drug smuggler in Nagpur

In a dramatic twist worthy of a blockbuster film, a notorious drug smuggler was apprehended during a late-night screening of the highly anticipated movie, Pushpa 2: The Rule, at a multiplex in Nagpur, Maharashtra.

Around midnight on Thursday, police executed a swift operation, storming the cinema hall and arresting Vishal Meshram, a gangster with a criminal record that includes 27 cases, involving murder and drug trafficking charges.

The arrest, which took place in front of stunned moviegoers, caught everyone by surprise. Authorities quickly reassured the audience that they could continue watching the film after the operation was completed.

Meshram had been evading law enforcement for nearly 10 months, but his desire to watch the newly released film led to his capture.

Acting on a reliable tip-off, officers from the Pachpaoli police station used cyber surveillance to track Meshram’s movements and pinpoint his location. They identified his vehicle parked outside the theatre and deflated the tires of his sports utility vehicle (SUV) to prevent him from escaping before executing their plan inside the cinema.

The arrest was precisely timed with the climax of Pushpa 2: The Rule, where Meshram was engrossed in the action-packed scenes on screen. Officers swiftly surrounded him, ensuring he had no chance to resist, and took him into custody without incident.

Meshram, known for his violent tendencies and history of attacking law enforcement officers, is now behind bars at Nagpur Central Jail. Plans are in place to transfer him to a prison in Nashik for further detention.

Pushpa 2: The Rule, starring Allu Arjun, is the highly anticipated sequel to the 2021 hit Pushpa: The Rise. Released on December 5, the film has garnered a massive following, with dubbed versions available in Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Bengali, and Malayalam.

For the audience at this particular screening in Nagpur, the evening unfolded like a real-life thriller, where fiction and reality collided in an unexpected way.