Not responsible for gold transit, says TTD official

Tirupati: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam Executive Officer Anil Kumar Singhal shrugged off any responsibility for the poor transit and security arrangements made to transport the TTD’s 1,381 kg of gold, which was seized by a poll squad in Tamil Nadu on April 17. The gold was being transported from the PNB to its treasury.

Addressing a crowded press conference at the TTD’s administrative building in Tirupati, Mr Singhal said that the responsibility of transporting and depositing TTDs gold in its treasury was that of the PNB. He said that the bank that gets the investment from the TTD bears the cost of transport, security, insurance, smelting and purification.  

“We are not concerned with the manner in which the Punjab National Bank transported the 1,381 kg of gold. It will become the responsibility of TTD only after the PNB deposits the gold with the TTD treasury as per the laid down norms and procedures of the government of India and the Reserve Bank of India,” he said.

Mr Singhal recalled that the TTD had written to the PNB on the maturity of the gold deposit on March 27.

“The gold had to reach the TTD treasury on April 18 but, due to the incident, we got it only on April 20,” he said adding that it is now the responsibility of the TTD to decide what to do with the returned gold deposit.

Ruling out media speculations and allegations levelled against TTD officials, Mr Singhal said, “A big issue has been made out of the TTD’s failure to take responsibility for security for the gold. I want to make it very clear that it is the responsibility of the Punjab National Bank. It becomes our responsibility, only after we receive the gold”.

Explaining the series of incidents after the gold was seized, Mr Singhal said, “The bankers called us over phone.  They claimed that they had relevant documents for transporting the gold that belongs to the TTD and told us that they had produced these before the poll squad.

On their  request, we gave them a letter which we had written to the bank to return the TTD’s gold to its treasury in Tirupati.

 The EC launched an investigation and gave notice to the TTD to send substantiated documents and an official concerned for further clarifications,” he added.         

Amidst speculations and allegations that the gold belonging to the TTD was being taken away illegally, the AP government has ordered a probe into the alleged lapses on the part of the TTD in releasing and transportation of the gold.