Tirumala, September 30: For the first time in the annals of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the administration has lodged a complaint against three former Trust Board members – K Yadaiah, M Anjaiah, A Subrahmanyam -, five TTD employees and four others, including two deputy EO cadre officers, seeking criminal action against them in the Arjitha seva ticket scam.
The state government had already directed the TTD to take stringent action against those involved in the scam as pointed out by the Vigilance Report. TTD Deputy EO E Gopalakrishna lodged a 63-page complaint with the Two Town police station in Tirupati.
Seva tickets, including the auspicious Vasthram and Abhishekam tickets, were sold illegally at exorbitant prices. The entire scam was perpetrated by the TTD employees and some board members without the involvement of an outsider, the report said.
The TTD Specified Authority reportedly decided to appoint an Enquiry Officer to further probe the involvement of TTD employees in the scam. Notices are being readied for DyEOs Umapathy and Parvathi to face an enquiry.
Ground is also being prepared to sack superintendent Rajendra and three UD clerks — Kasturi Rangan, Hari and Bhaskar — who used the password and helped the accused manipulate sale of seva tickets.
Journalists working with a national channel are also allegedly involved in the sale of the tickets.
Kin of a scribe, who had worked as PA to a former Board member, was also reportedly involved in the scam along with some other journalists.
A criminal case has been filed against one Chada Madhusudhan, who allegedly blocked 52 Visesha Vasthram tickets and sold 31 of them for `31 lakh. Surya Narayana Reddy and Mohan Babu are also allegedly involved in the bulk transaction.
–Agencies