The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Andhra Pradesh police on Thursday arrested the deputy executive officer of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), that administers Lord Venkateshwara temple on Tirumala hills, in a disproportionate assets case following searches at his residence, office and the houses of his relatives, officials said.
“Lokanatham had amassed massive assets disproportionate to his known sources of income,” he said. “He was produced before the ACB court in Nellore for judicial remand,” the DSP said. Five teams of the ACB had conducted the searches at the locations linked to Mendu Lokanatham, they began on Wednesday morning and went on till evening, ACB deputy superintendent of police in Tirupati, Maddi Srinivasa Rao said. After completing the searches, the ACB officials took Lokanatham into custody on Thursday morning and shifted him to the ACB office.
During the course of the investigation, CBI reportedly came across information relating to the assets of some TTD employees and shared the details with the ACB for further action.
The case was registered after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which investigated the alleged adulteration of ghee used in the making of Tirumala Laddu prasadam, according to Rao. The CBI had completed its investigation into the ghee adulteration case and filed a charge sheet, according to the ACB official.
