TIRUPATI: A former Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) vigilance chief has denied that his inquiry report stated that a pink diamond was lost from the treasury, and accused former pradhana archaka A.V. Ramana Deekshithulu of misleading the investigation.
Dr Deekshithulu had quoted a report filed by Mr Ramana Kumar, former TTD chief vigilance and security officer (CV&SO), to say that the pink diamond was lost. It was claimed that the diamond reportedly surfaced at an auction abroad.
Asked by mediapersons at Tirumala about the pink diamond, Mr Ramana Kumar said “Ramana Deekshithulu had misguided officials at that time. He refused to take any more questions.”
Mr Ramana Kumar was speaking after having darshan at the Lord Venkateswara temple in Tirumala.
Later Mr Ramana Kumar spoke to mediapersons in Tirupati and said, “My report on the missing of the pink diamond was based on the statements given by Ramana Deekshithulu, the then Pradhana Archaka, and Narsimha Deekshitulu. I did not confirm that the diamond was lost, I had mentioned ‘It is learnt that a diamond was missing’. I did not carry out a detailed inquiry regarding the pink diamond”.
