Tirupati, November 02: In an unprecedented move, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams’ (TTD) Vigilance Department has conducted raids on the camp offices of some of the temple’s Trust Board members following credible information that their personal assistants are selling darshan and seva tickets in the black market.
The raids, which have been going on for the past three days, were initiated after the receipt of written complaints from the public against the PAs of some TTD Board members.
The complainants had accused the PAs of cornering tickets allotted to the Board members and selling them at exorbitant rates, in fact, three-four times their original price.
A team of the TTD Vigilance wing raided Trust Board member Yadaiah’s camp office opposite the Annamayya Bhavan on Tirumala on Sunday evening.
They quizzed Yadaiah’s PA and Mohan, one of the office assistants.
They also seized some documents. The team did not even leave bathrooms and beds untouched.
Acting on the instructions of TTD Chief Vigilance & Security Officer (CVSO) Ramakrishna, three different teams have been conducting the raids since Friday.
So far, they have raided the offices of Board members Yadaiah, Anjaiah and G Subrahmanyam.
Th e officials seized a few documents from Anjaiah’s office and took one of his office assistants, Bhaskar, into custody. He was, however, released after TTD Chairman DK Adikeshavulu Naidu and Anjaiah spoke to the CVSO.
When local media contacted the Vigilance officials, they said they had conducted the raids after receiving information that some staff members of the TTD Board members were indulging in malpractices. However, the CVSO himself was tight-lipped. ‘‘We did conduct raids but there is nothing I can reveal to the media,’’ he told newsmen.
–Agencies