Amaravati, Dec 10 – The Andhra Pradesh High Court today tasked the Counter‑Insurgency Division (CID) and the Anti‑Corruption Bureau (ACB) with taking legal steps in the Parakamani theft case at Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple, Tirumala.
Under a directive by the court, the Directors General of CID and ACB may now file the necessary FIRs and pursue the matter in accordance with the law.
Both agencies were also empowered to investigate the settlement reached in the Lok Adalat and to examine the assets of the accused, C. V. Ravi Kumar. They were instructed to share findings with each other and to forward pertinent data to the Income Tax Department and the Enforcement Directorate.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT), led by Additional Director General Ravi Shankar Ayyanar, had turned in its closed‑cover report to the High Court on 2 Dec. The suit came in after the court reviewed a petition contesting the closure of the case in the Lok Adalat.
Ravi Kumar, a Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) employee, was apprehended in April 2023 while diverting US$920 from the Parakamani coin‑and‑currency‑counting centre.
The original filing at Tirumala police was later sent to the Lok Adalat, where a compromise was struck in September 2023. Ravi Kumar had offered to donate seven properties, totalling ₹40 crore, located in Tirupati and Chennai, to the TTD as part of the settlement.
A petition filed in the High Court alleged that there had been no investigation into the theft after the TTD’s governing board ended the case following the compromise. Macherla Sreenivas sought a probe into that closure.
During its October investigation, the SIT interviewed former TTD chairpersons B. Karunakar Reddy and Y.V. Subba Reddy, ex‑executive officer Dharma Reddy, and several other TTD and police officials.
In a related order, the Court asked CID to submit the post‑mortem report on Y. Satish Kumar, the theft case complainant.
Satish Kumar, a former Assistant Vigilance and Security Officer (AVSO) at the TTD, was found dead under mysterious circumstances on the railway tracks at Komali village, near Tadipatri in Anantapur district, on 14 Nov. The autopsy showed he had been struck in the back of the head with a sharp object.
Stay informed on all the latest news, real-time breaking news updates, and follow all the important headlines in world News on Latest NewsX. Follow us on social media Facebook, Twitter(X), Gettr and subscribe our Youtube Channel.
