Arjitha seva online tickets scamster caught at TTD

TIRUMALA: The vigilance and security wing of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams has unearthed another online Arjitha seva tickets black marketing racket at the sacred abode of Lord Venkateswara in Tirumala.
Concerned with the rise in black marketing of Arjitha seva tickets using fake Aadhar cards, TTD had stepped up vigil after its vigilance and security wing exposed two such rackets recently.

On September 13, the vigilance wing caught S Kodanda Raman (40) from Bangalore when he tried to gain access into the Tirumala temple with fake tickets of Suprabatham .
According to T Siva Kumar Reddy, chief vigilance and security officer at TTD, the tickets that Raman carried were booked in the names of Praveen (26) and Vinay (37) (vide booking number ISO5061898300423).
Raman said Praveen and one Nithin (both from Bangalore) had applied for the tickets. They approached him and helped fabricate the ID proofs besides creating a fake Suprabatham ticket. Raman took a printout of the fake ticket at SV Shopping Complex in Tirumala, the night before he arrived for darshan.
According to Reddy, Praveen and Nithin had made 2,600 registrations for Arjitha seva tickets online and bagged 15% of these registrations. Bulk registrations such as this was unheard of and shocked the TTD vigilance wing. Praveen had booked the original Suprabatham tickets on a fake passport.
Another shocking revelation is that the mastermind behind the racket is the son of a bureaucrat from Karnataka, who apparently has been doing all this not for money but to improve his influence.
The vigilance wing has lodged a complaint with Tirumala police. Tirumala I town circle inspector Rama Krishna said a case has been registered against Raman, Praveen and Nithin under sections 420, 468, 471r/w34 of the IPC. He added that the mastermind would be nabbed very soon.