Major Security Breach at Tirumala Vaikuntam Queue Complex
The devotees subsequently sought photometric re-entry tokens and exited the premises to get in later.
Tirupati: Following a major security breach at Tirumala, five persons, including a private security guard working for the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), have been booked for allowing direct access to free darshan without having to wait in queue.
According to officials, the breach occurred during the early hours of Thursday around 2:30 a.m. near the Bhudevi Complex in Alipiri, where about 24 devotees from different regions had been waiting for their turn to collect Slotted Sarva Darshan (SSD) tokens.
Two taxi drivers, identified as K. Venkatesh and D. Venkatesh, reportedly approached the devotees, promising them direct darshan without standing in queue for ₹1,500 per person. The duo transported the devotees to Tirumala in their vehicles and handed over ₹8,500 to an accomplice Venkatesh, a vehicle cleaner associated with a local tout network.
In turn, Venkatesh paid ₹8,000 to P. Sai Kumar, a PSG working at TTD’s Vaikuntam Queue Complex (VQC) – II as his share in the operation. The security guard reportedly handed over keys of the emergency gate to the cleaner, who opened the gate near the VQC-II entrance, opposite the substation, at around 8 a.m. and facilitated the illegal entry of the devotees.
The devotees subsequently sought photometric re-entry tokens and exited the premises to get in later. However, when they tried to re-enter the premises at 12:30 p.m., Vigilance staff grew suspicious about their behaviour and questioned them. This led to exposure of the illegal operation being carried out by touts and TTD PSG Sai Kumar.
Following a formal complaint by TTD vigilance, Tirumala II Town police registered a case. Investigation is currently underway.