Kanipakam Temple Staffer Booked for Ticket Reuse Fraud

A contract employee at the Sri Varasiddhi Vinayaka Swamy temple in Kanipakam allegedly reused an Abhishekam ticket and collected excess money from devotees, exposing a suspected ticketing fraud.

Sources said the employee collected ₹1,000 from two NRI devotees for a ticket priced at ₹700 and allegedly issued them a photocopy of a ticket that had already been used by devotees from Srikalahasti who booked it through the 'Mana Mitra' app.

The fraud surfaced after temple staff found the same ticket number had been used twice and alerted the assistant executive officer. During questioning, the devotees reportedly said they had received the ticket from the contract employee.

Temple sources said the employee had faced similar allegations earlier. The state government introduced the 'Mana Mitra' app to ensure transparent ticket bookings, but sources alleged that some staff were misusing the system.

Temple executive officer K. Penchala Kishore said a detailed inquiry would be conducted before action is taken against the contract employee.