A YouTuber from Rajasthan on Tuesday was detained by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam’s (TTD’s) vigilance and security officials for flying a drone near the Tirumala temple, raising concerns over security protocols at the hill town.
Tirupati:A YouTuber from Rajasthan on Tuesday was detained by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam’s (TTD’s) vigilance and security officials for flying a drone near the Tirumala temple, raising concerns over security protocols at the hill town.
The individual, identified as Anshuman Tareja, had reportedly arrived in Tirumala earlier in the day and was reportedly seen operating the drone at multiple locations in the temple town before reaching the Harinama Sankeerthana Mandapam.
From there, he flew the drone over the temple premises for about 10 minutes before it was intercepted by vigilance personnel. Anshuman was immediately detained, and the drone was seized and handed over to the Tirumala town police. A case was registered and an investigation is underway.
The incident highlighted the alleged flaws in the security system as the devotee managed to bring in the drone to Tirumala bypassing stringent checking procedures. The incident has drawn attention to possible lapses in security screening at the entry points.
This comes at a time when the TTD has faced scrutiny over a series of recent incidents, including the entry of devotees into restricted areas wearing footwear, the reported seizure of meat and liquor at Tirumala, and concerns over the deaths of cattle under its care.
The TTD is learnt to have launched an investigation to find out how the devotee managed to sneak in the prohibited drone evading multi-layered security.
