There was mild panic at the Tirumala Venkateswara Swamy Temple's Maha Dwaram on Wednesday evening, after a woman mistook an incident, to be a short circuit in the scanning area.
The Times of India reported that a woman from Tamil Nadu shouted in panic about an electric shock, which created a flutter in the queue. Devotees began running, which resulted in a minor stampede-like situation, injuring six people.
Following this, security persons stepped in and stopped the queue lines immediately, and the short circuit was found to be a hoax.
Earlier this week, another incident triggered panic among devotees after a drone being used by the Forest Department crashed into a tree near the SNC area.
The drone was being used to survey vacant lands, while it was hit by a bird. Several devotees nearby heard a loud noise and ran away, as the drone's motor kept running as the machine fell, before crash landing on a tree.
There are restrictions for flying objects in Tirumala, as loud noises overhead may trigger panic among devotees below and cause a stampede.
However, in this case, the officials had taken permission from the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), the governing body of the temple.
On the last day of December 2014, stampedes throughout the day triggered panic at Tirumala, leaving several people with injuries.
According to reports, the TTD had made arrangements to manage the heavy influx of pilgrims, but put up barricades, curbs, and 'diversion' signs, which added to the woes of the common devotees.