Another corruption complaint erupts in TTD

TTD scandal involving alleged scam during Srinivasa Kalyanam in international destinations, prompting probe and criticism from trust board member.

In continuation to the series of financial scandals pertaining to the erstwhile Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) dispensation that have been unearthed in the recent times, yet another shocking alleged scam has come to light.

The allegation pertains to the conduct of ‘Srinivasa Kalyanam’, the celestial wedding of Lord Srinivasa and Goddess Padmavati, by the TTD management in international destinations.

It has been a practice for the TTD to accept the invitation of recognised organisations representing the Indian diaspora and depute a team of officials and priests along with the deities to perform the divine wedding. The organisers normally take care of the hospitality needs of the visiting delegation.

It was during one such trip to Europe in October/November 2022 that the team had allegedly demanded and received a huge amount towards ‘Sambhavana’ (honorarium) from the organisers and shared it among the team members.

It was long after the incident that the organisers complained to the TTD that the Assistant Executive Officer B. Venkateswarlu had coerced them into paying the amount. Based on the complaint, a probe was conducted and the complaint was found to be true.

According to the enquiry report submitted by the then Joint Executive Officer (H&E), copies of which are available with The Hindu, the tainted members were directed to electronically deposit the Sambhavana amount into the Srivari Hundi account. They were also blacklisted from participating in any similar events conducted either at global or domestic destinations in future. But, no legal proceedings were initiated against them.

Expressing anguish at the manner in which they were ‘let off’ with a simple warning and without any punitive action, TTD trust board member G. Bhanuprakash Reddy submitted a representation to the TTD Chairman B.R. Naidu and Executive Officer J. Syamala Rao to probe the matter further.