After diamond studded bangles, a sari donated by the Telangana Chief Minister, K Chandrashekar Rao also went missing from the Kaleshwaram temple.
The sari was donated by the chief minister in 2016 as part of his vow to fulfil state formation. The thief has since been caught and the sari recovered.
The theft came to light as part of an audit undertaken by the endowment department of all temples in the state. The department has initiated action against some employees, including a superintendent in connection with the theft.
E. Srinivas Rao, Additional Commissioner, Endowment department, issued orders to initiate disciplinary action against Kaleshwaram temple superintendent and former executive officer B. Srinivas, senior assistant U. Uma Maheshwar Rao and other employees for the theft.
The theft of the silk sari offered to Goddess Parwati by the chief minister at the Kaleshwaram temple came to light on July 21, but was initially denied by the temple officials.
However, an inquiry by the endowment department found that the sari the officials had submitted at the time of the audit, was not the one donated by the chief minister.
When CCTV footage was reviewed, it was revealed that an employee working in the temple stole the sari from the storeroom and replaced it with another he had bought from Warangal.The officials have recovered the sari, reported Deccan Chronicle.
The missing diamond studded bangles from the Laxminarasimha Swamy temple are yet to be recovered, but officials overseeing temple activities have since then been transferred. The bangles, worth Rs 6 lakh were reportedly donated to the temple by a NRI devotee.
In June, the temple’s administration conducted an audit of the temple’s properties and had published a list of its jewels, but found the bangles missing from the list.
The NRI devotee, a lady, had reportedly donated the bangles anonymously. When she was informed that the bangles had gone ‘missing’, she called up the authorities but was denied any information.
Endowment officials transferred Naini Supriya, the temple’s Executive Officer (EO) during the audit, to Warangal a couple of days ago and the new EO Saibaba is yet to take charge. Nani pleaded ignorance of any wrongdoing during her tenure in Dharmapuri, reported The New Indian Express.