PNB gives back 1,381 kg gold to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams officials

Tirupati: Drawing curtains on the three-day drama over gold being transported to Tirupati, state-owned Punjab National Bank on Saturday handed over 1,381 kg gold to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD).

The gold which was being returned by PNB to TTD after the maturity of a three-year deposit was seized by an election squad in Tiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu on the day before the Lok Sabha election in the state on April 17, after the bank officials failed to submit documents relating to the movement of gold.

On April 17, the election officials seized three vans which were transporting 56 boxes containing nearly 22 kg gold in each and totalling 1,381 kg in all as the bank officials failed to authenticate that the gold belongs to the TTD.

The value of the confiscated gold is estimated to be at over Rs 450 crore.

Following the seizure, PNB officials left for Chennai from Tirupati on the same night to get the seized gold released, along with a letter from TTD.

However, the release orders for the seized gold were issued by the Election Commission after three days and the gold was handed over to the TTD in Tirupati on Saturday evening.

A senior official from the TTD vigilance and security wing has confirmed the receipt of the seized gold and said that the gold was shifted to TTD’s treasury by Saturday evening.