KURNOOL: Yet another scam has surfaced in the famous Sri Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Swamy temple at Srisailam. The outsourced staff at the temple have allegedly siphoned off more than Rs 1.42 crore since 2017 as per preliminary estimate by manipulating software used to make booking of various Arjitha Sevas and also rooms by devotees.
Taking serious note of the fraud, Endowments Minister Vellampalli Srinivasa Rao directed the department to appoint a Special Inquiry Officer to probe the matter and take action. The scam came to light on Sunday when the temple authorities conducted an internal inquiry into the financial matters.
Temple Executive Officer KS Rama Rao said the outsourced staff were engaged by two banks to man the counter and make booking of Arjitha Sevas and rooms in choultries run by the temple on the hill shrine.
As per the preliminary inquiry, the temple officials found that the outsourced staff had manipulated the software in such a way that they erased the data of some of the ticket bookings made by devotees.
It is learnt that they booked tickets and rooms in the software and once the devotee performs the sevas or leaves the room, the data would not be shown in the temple records. The amount collected on these sevas and room bookings were diverted to other bank accounts by the staff, he said.
Speaking to TNIE, Rama Rao said two banks had engaged 14 outsourced staff to take care of the cash transactions pertaining to the temple. He said the outsourced staff might have taken the help of a computer expert and installed a software to divert the money. “They might have diverted the money of fewer amounts on days when the turnout is heavy and on auspicious occasions when the pilgrim flow is high,” the EO said, adding that their initial inquiry showed that around `1.42 crore might have been siphoned off since 2017. A complaint was lodged with Srisailam police against the 14 outsourcing employees.
Probe ordered
Endowments Minister Vellampalli Srinivasa Rao spoke to Kurnool district Superintendent of Police K Fakeerappa and directed him to take stringent action against the guilty and recover the siphoned off money. Similarly, he asked the Endowments Commissioner to appoint a Special Inquiry Officer to probe the matter with the help of cyber experts. He also wanted the Endowments Commissioner to submit the internal audit report and also a report on the scam.