Ornaments worth ₹7.36 lakh are missing from the “bokkasam” (treasury) of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) which manages the country’s richest temple of Lord Venkateshwara at Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district.
The issue came to light on Tuesday when Bharatiya Janata Party’s Andhra Pradesh unit secretary Bhanu Prakash Reddy made the allegations in a press conference at Tirupati. The missing ornaments include a silver crown weighing five kilograms, two gold chains and two rings, said Reddy.
Reddy said the missing of ornaments had come to the notice of the Tirumala authorities in May 2018 itself, but they had kept it a secret. The officials were trying to hush up the theft of the ornaments in the temple, he added.
“The authorities, who conducted an inquiry, held assistant executive officer in-charge of treasury M Sreenivasulu responsible, and have since been recovering the cost of the missing ornaments from his salary in monthly instalments,” he said, adding that an amount of ₹28,000 was being deducted from the official’s salary every month.
He demanded that the temple authorities release a white paper on the missing ornaments and the steps initiated to trace them. “Instead of making efforts to trace the missing ornaments, which are the property of Lord Venkateshwara, the TTD authorities chose to close the matter by recovering money from the official,” the BJP leader said.
{{/usCountry}}He demanded that the temple authorities release a white paper on the missing ornaments and the steps initiated to trace them. “Instead of making efforts to trace the missing ornaments, which are the property of Lord Venkateshwara, the TTD authorities chose to close the matter by recovering money from the official,” the BJP leader said.
{{/usCountry}}He threatened to stage a protest in front of the Devasthanam administrative building on Wednesday if the officials fail to take appropriate action.
Reacting to the allegations, TTD Executive officer Anil Kumar Singhal told reporters that all precautions were taken by Tirumala authorities in the preservation of gold and silver ornaments and others donated by pilgrims with proper documentation in the treasury.
He said Sreenivasulu had personally reported some shortage of ornaments worth ₹7,36,375 as per certification of October 10, 2017. “After inquiry, Sreenivasulu was held responsible for the shortfall in ornaments cited above and at the rate of ₹25,000 per month, an amount of ₹2.25 lakhs have so far been recovered from him,” he said.
He said on the appeal of the official, the TTD had agreed to undertake certification once again in September for the truth about shortages to come out transparently. “If the alleged shortlisted items were not found, the TTD would also initiate departmental disciplinary proceedings on Sreenivasulu,” he said.
.