It is a crime to steal someone’s property. What if the officials who are supposed to return the property seized from thieves and the items forgotten by devotees use them? During the YSRCP regime, an official acted in a self-serving manner.
–Galla S Kiran Kumar, Bureau ChiefThe command control officer who distributed the found items like pulses was in charge of the YSRCP regime.
Tirupati, News Today-Tirumala: It is a crime if someone misappropriates property. What if the officials who are supposed to return the property seized from thieves and the forgotten items of devotees use them? An officer behaved in a similar manner during the YSRCP regime. Even though the vigilance investigation revealed that he had misappropriated the items found in Tirumala without registering them in the records, he covered them up and sent them to his own department. The command control department is very crucial in Tirumala. Many devotees of Srivari forget their belongings, jewelry, and cash in various places. Some of these are misappropriated by thieves. Others are identified by the officials in the CCTV footage and taken to the command control center and registered in the records. If any devotee files a complaint, they investigate and return the items.
What is in the investigation report?
There are allegations that Shivshankar, who was the Vigilance Inspector (VI) in Command Control in 2023 during the YSRCP regime, has committed serious irregularities. Vigilance Security Officer Padmanabhan submitted a report on this at that time. The report stated that ‘VI Shivshankar did not maintain records properly. The staff used the cellphones and Bluetooth lost by the devotees as per Shivshankar’s instructions.’ In many cases, the gold and silver ornaments found were deposited in the Srivari Hundi and recorded on CCTV. It was found that some others were deposited in the Hundi but were not recorded on CCTV. The report clarified that VI Shivshankar misused his position by forgetting to take action against the staff who were violating the rules and even encouraged them and used the money found for office purposes.
What did the staff say?
The staff revealed many shocking facts to the V Charana officials. Shankaraiah, who works in Sector 4, said that the money seized from the accused and the thieves was spent on food, tea and other necessities in the office as per the orders of VI Sivashankar. He explained that this money was also used for laddu prasad and tickets. Nagaraju, who has been working in various sectors for 13 years, explained to the investigating officers that some staff used the electronic devices seized from the thieves without registering them in the register. He said that they used to put gold and silver ornaments in the hundi. Nagaraju said that when he handed over an iPhone he found to VI Sivashankar, he gave it to Ramesh Babu, who was next to him. Ramesh Babu, who worked as a CCTV operator in the C-shift, said that the details of the devotees’ losses were not actually recorded in the register.
Only nominal actions..
The government, along with the higher officials, took nominal action against the officer who committed the irregularities on that day. In fact, a case should have been registered against him and an investigation should have been conducted. When the allegations were proven, he should have been suspended, but the parent department sent him back to the state police department. There are many doubts about standing by the officer who is facing allegations of embezzling devotees’ money and leaving him without taking even the slightest action. There are requests that the coalition government take action against the officer who committed the irregularities based on the vigilance report of that day.
