Gold Theft in Parakamani is False: TTD Clarifies

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) clarified that a newspaper report claiming a massive gold theft in the Parakamani section of the Tirumala temple is completely false. The temple administration strongly denied the report and stated that the facts were misrepresented.

According to TTD, on January 11, 2025, an outsourced employee named Penchalaih attempted to steal a 100-gram gold biscuit while working in the Parakamani section. Vigilance and security staff immediately noticed the act and caught him red-handed. During routine checks, the gold biscuit was found hidden inside a pipe hole of an empty steel hundi trolley. The entire incident was recorded on CCTV cameras and the evidence was submitted to the court.

Based on a complaint from the vigilance inspector, Tirumala 1 Town Police registered Crime No. 02/2025 under Section 316(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and arrested the accused. He was produced in court on January 13, 2025 and sent to judicial remand, where he remained for about 30 days. During the investigation, police recovered the 100-gram gold biscuit from the spot and seized 555.5 grams of gold jewellery, 157 grams of silver items and an additional 76 grams of gold jewellery from his residence. Invoice receipts related to gold exchange at jewellery shops were also collected.

Police questioned 12 witnesses and examined the accused’s financial transactions, bank records, properties and suspected benami dealings before filing the charge sheet. The case is currently under trial as CC No. 309/2025 and the next hearing is scheduled for April 13, 2026. TTD stated that strict rules, multi-level security systems and CCTV monitoring are in place in the Parakamani process and requested devotees not to believe false rumours.