Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), May 12 (). A devotee has been arrested on charges of security breach at the famous Sri Venkateswara Temple near Tirupati. A senior official gave this information on Friday.
The Vigilance Branch of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) nabbed the devotee who made the video of Ananda Nilayam, the gold-plated gopuram of the sanctum sanctorum, on May 7.
TTD Executive Officer A.V. Dharma Reddy on Friday disclosed that on the basis of CCTV footage, Khammam devotee Rahul Reddy was identified, and later apprehended. Tirupati police will interrogate him.
Reddy said action would also be initiated against the security personnel on duty in the scanning areas on that day for lapses in checking.
The devotee passed all the security checks and still managed to reach the inner area of the temple with a hidden camera. The devotee had secretly videoed a route around the main sanctum sanctorum of Ananda Nilayam and Vimana Parakram.
The matter came to light on May 8 after the video went viral on social media. After the video surfaced, TTD ordered an inquiry as electronic gadgets are completely banned inside the temple.
The Vigilance and Security wing (wing) of TTD took serious note of the incident and succeeded in nabbing the accused.
TTD Chief Vigilance and Security Officer (CVSO) D. Narasimha Kishore had said that heavy rains lashed Tirumala on May 7 and there was a power cut in the hill town for two hours. They suspect that during that time the devotee managed to enter with a pen camera.
Meanwhile, Dharma Reddy said that the CVSO has been directed to study more mechanized and instant checking like the airport model, so that 5,000-5,500 devotees can be given darshan in an hour after thorough checking in the scan area. Can be done
Dharma Reddy said that for this we have also consulted the Central and State IB teams, which will visit Tirumala next week.
FZ/ANM
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