Contractual staffer caught stealing gold offerings from Tirumala temple storage

TTD vigilance officials caught the accused red-handed while he was trying to smuggle the gold biscuit concealed in pipes in a waste removal trolley from Parakamani on January 11.

Hyderabad: A contractual employee was caught stealing gold offered to Lord Sri Venkateswara in 'SriVari Parakamani' at the Tirumala temple. Offerings to Lord Sri Venkateswara, the presiding deity of Tirumala, carry sentimental significance. The Parakamani of Lord Sri Venkateswara functions in the New Parakamani complex atop the Tirumala hill shrine, wherein the activity of counting and segregating various Hundi items, which include gold, silver, precious stones, and cash, including foreign currency, takes place.

While the contract employee Veerisetti Penchalaiah was caught stealing a 100-gram gold biscuit from Parakamani on January 11, upon his interrogation, it was found that he had been stealing the valuable offerings by devotees for some time and until now had stolen around 555 grams of gold biscuits, 100 grams of jewellery, and 157 grams of silver. He has been in charge of the gold storage room at Parakamani for two years.

The officers of TTD, including the superintendent, assistant executive officer (AEO), and deputy EO, supervise the staff as they count and segregate the Hundi items, a highly sensitive activity at Parakamani. As is customary, the representative, a clerk of Pedda Jeeyangar Swamy Mutt, Tirumala, also supervises this activity.

TTD vigilance officials caught Penchalaiah red-handed while he was trying to smuggle the gold biscuit concealed in pipes in a waste removal trolley from Parakamani on January 11. The accused was then handed over to the local police, who had registered a case and began further investigation. The police identified Penchalaiah as a contract employee hailing from Maruthinagar in Tirupati.

Upon interrogation, it was revealed that he had stolen gold biscuits worth about Rs 46 lakhs from the gold storage room so far. While first the TTD vigilance officials were surprised to see the gold biscuit in the pipes of a waste disposal trolley, an examination of CCTV footage found that Penchaliah had concealed the gold in the trolley. With the intention of making easy money, he began stealing gold items from the storage room in Parakamani. As suspicions arose about Penchalaiah's behaviour, TTD vigilance staff kept a watch on him, said a police official.

During the interrogation, information about his previous thefts in Parakamani also came to light. The police recovered the gold and silver items stolen by Penchalaiah.