A bank employee was caught after trying to steal gold biscuits from the Parakamani gold vault in the Tirumala Srivari temple. The accused was identified as Penchalaiyya, who tried to steal the gold biscuit with the help of a trolley used to transport waste. The incident led to a discussion on security lapses in the temple.
The hundis set up in the respective areas within the Tirumala and Tirupati Devasthanams are moved to Parakamani at the same time. At the same time, the vigilance staff spotted and caught the bank employee Penchalaiyya while he was carrying a 100 gram gold biscuit.
He was caught while carrying the gold biscuit in a trolley used to transport waste and handed over him to the Tirumala One Town police. On this occasion, the vigilance staff acted on alert and thwarted his attempt and arrested him. The gold found with the accused along with all the evidence was handed over to the Tirumala One Town police.
The incident has highlighted the need to further tighten security at the Parakamani in the Srivari temple. It seems that the temple management is also making plans to further improve security measures. The Tirumala One Town police have registered a case against Penchalayya and started an investigation.
The investigation is ongoing from the perspective of how many times the accused has committed such misconduct so far. Issues related to the ethics of the employees working in the temple are also likely to be part of the investigation.
TTD Additional EO Venkaiah Chowdary said that a contractual employee stole a gold biscuit while preparing a hundi. He said that Srivari Parakamani is under TTD vigilance surveillance and that the hundi will be checked twice each time. It was revealed that a gold biscuit was found during the checks.
He said that the vigilance officials who identified the accused through CCTV cameras have registered a case and started an investigation. There are different opinions from the public on this incident. Many are demanding strict punishment for such acts that betray the trust of devotees. This incident once again reminds us of the need to restructure security systems and fully protect the properties of devotees.
