TIRUPATI: Tirumala police registered cases against 25 touts and arrested 16 of them in the last two months following complaints of fake recommendation letters.
The vigilance and security wing of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) had lodged the complaint with the police on the existence of fake TTD websites that have been cheating gullible devotees. The vigilance wing also complained to the police about touts coming with fake recommendation letters to get accommodation and darshan. Following the complaint, the Tirumala police swung into action and arrested 16 touts on the charge of forging recommendation letters of VVIPs to obtain darshan tickets.
According to TTD’s chief vigilance and security officer (CVSO) Gopinath Jatti, the vigilance wing of the temple body has prepared a list of middlemen, who have been frequently resorting to various fraudulent means to make a quick buck.
They are also involved in black marketing of the most sought-after darshan tickets. “While some of the middlemen forge letters of elected representatives, some travel operators and fake websites generate fake darshan tickets,” the CVSO said.
The TTD urged the devotees not to fall prey to middlemen or try to book darshan tickets on fake websites.
TTD’s official website is www.tirupatibalaji.gov.in.
TTD finds 27 fake websites
According to TTD sources, touts regularly resort to fake recommendation letters of VIPs as most of the politicians do not come forward to lodge complaints with the police. Many VIPs prefer not to lodge complaints even after the police bring cases of fake letters to their notice, sources said. A senior police official said as no VIP comes forward to lodge a formal complaint, the police would investigage such cases suo moto and arrest the touts. “This is a major roadblock in the investigation,” he said.
TTD set up a cyber security and social media monitoring cell, which keeps a constant watch on fake websites and touts selling darshan tickets online. TTD has updated its software with search engine optimization. This brings the TTDwebsite to the top of the search results.
As many as 27 fake websites have been identified and action would be taken against them.
