Srikalahasti devasthanam plunges into action after viral video on bribery charges

Tirupati: Srikalahasti Devasthanam has constituted a special vigilance committee to curb the activities of middlemen and ensure transparency in temple administration following a controversy triggered by a viral social media video alleging bribery inside the temple.

In a video widely circulated on social media over the past few days, the woman claimed that during her recent visit to the temple, some employees sought payments to facilitate quicker and smoother darshan.

She alleged that she initially paid Rs 300 after being approached near the entrance and was later asked to pay smaller amounts ranging from Rs 50 to Rs 100 at multiple locations inside the temple premises.

Expressing disappointment, she said it was painful to encounter such practices at a sacred place like Srikalahasti and questioned the conduct of temple staff.

The video drew strong reactions from devotees and was widely shared online.

Reacting to the video, temple authorities strongly denied the accusations, calling them baseless and misleading. Executive Officer Venkatesulu stated that false information was being circulated on social media, damaging the reputation of the Devasthanam.

He said police cases had been registered against the woman for allegedly spreading false propaganda and warned that strict legal action would be taken against those sharing unverified or misleading content about the temple. He also appealed to devotees not to believe such posts.

Srikalahasti MLA B Sudheer Reddy said the matter was taken seriously and that police examined CCTV footage as part of the inquiry.

According to him, the woman, identified as Jyothi, a resident of the United States, had visited the temple with her family on March 24 and remained inside the premises for about 40 minutes.

Her allegations were found to be unfounded and claimed that during discussions with officials, the woman admitted the video had been uploaded by mistake.

The MLA further alleged that certain political groups amplified the video on social media. Emphasising that religion should not be politicised, the MLA said attempts to tarnish the reputation of the historic temple would not be tolerated and warned that strict action would be taken against individuals recording videos inside the temple premises without permission.

In this backdrop, the EO issued orders a couple of days ago appointing an eight-member vigilance committee comprising officials from various cadres.

The committee has been entrusted with monitoring temple activities to ensure transparency and protect devotees from exploitation.

The committee will focus on identifying and preventing brokers who cheat devotees, coordinating with police to take action against such persons, supervising queue lines and centralised counters, monitoring crowd areas through CCTV surveillance, conducting surprise inspections at ticket and prasadam counters, and addressing grievances raised by devotees.

Meanwhile, police have registered a case and initiated a detailed investigation into the incident, while temple authorities said steps are being taken to reassure devotees and maintain transparency in temple operations.