5 held for Tirumala darshan ticket fraud

The Tirumala police on Monday unearthed a gang of five men involved in the black marketing of darshan tickets.

Briefing the media, Tirumala One Town inspector Jaganmohan Reddy said that all the five arrested were involved in the illegal business for the past eight years. The modus operandi of the accused was to secure recommendation letters from various elected representatives on the pretext of facilitating the darshan of the deity to their relatives and sell them at exorbitant rates.

In the latest episode, the accused secured recommendation letters from a TTD board member from Maharashtra and sold them to devotees at a high price.

Six others at large

Mr. Reddy said that the department also launched a manhunt to nab another six fraudsters involved in the nefarious trade who currently were at large.