Exposing the chinks in the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) security wing, a private taxi bearing Tamil Nadu registration number on Wednesday roamed freely along the thoroughfares of the town, vividly displaying the name of a spiritual leader of an alien religion on its dickey’s cover.
Devotees expressed their dismay at the “blatant attempt to proselytise,” which the state government had banned in 2007.
Even though the security personnel were left clueless, the question that remained unanswered was how could the cab driver bypass the checking at the Alipiri security point, where all the passengers would be properly frisked and their vehicles checked?
Recent lapses
In the recent times, the TTD’s security and vigilance wing had registered severe lapses, including the filming of Anand Nilayam (the golden canopy atop the sanctum sanctorum) inside the temple with a mobile phone and the theft of an electric car and bus during the annual Brahmotsavams despite deployment of a heavy police force during the festival.
