TIRUPATI : The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) management is keen on setting up its own police station to tackle the petty criminal activities coming under the Endowments Act.

The activities likely to be brought under its ambit include the sale of laddus and seva tickets in the black market, smuggling of prohibited items like cigarettes, liquor and meat products and propagation of alien faiths on the sacred hills.

Tirumala, being a world famous pilgrim centre, bustles with tens of thousands of devotees everyday and the number of trivial criminal activities tends to be on the higher side, causing the police lose their focus on core areas.

Most of the criminals caught in the recent times are found to be regular offenders who continue with their `profession' with impunity as the conviction rate is far from satisfactory.

As the petty offences are labelled bailable, the perpetrators often go scot-free.

The TTD has its own vigilance and security wing that controls the temple area. Though these sleuths catch hold of criminals, conduct a probe and trace out their antecedents, they are supposed to hand over the accused to the regular police, who start again from the square one.

To avoid redundancy and inculcate a sense of fear among the regular offenders, the TTD has contemplated setting up its own police machinery, as is present in the Electricity and other departments.

Though the move was initially expected to cause heartburn among the regular cops, who will ultimately lose control over the `key areas', the management has decided to go ahead with its agenda.

Resolution

After passing a resolution to this effect it its trust board meet, the TTD has also forwarded a proposal to this effect to the State Government.

"Our team will soon hold a meeting with officials of the Law Department to discuss the finer aspects of the plan," a TTD senior official told The Hindu .

As a regular II Additional District Magistrate's Court also functions at Tirumala on Fridays to clear petty cases, disposal will become far more easier, he added.

While smuggling of liquor and meat is a routine affair as the undaunted bootleggers continue with their job with a `come-what-may' attitude, what appears to have given a thrust to the proposal was the recent clamour on proselytisation on Tirumala and the resultant decision taken to strengthen the security apparatus on the hills.

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