‘Unauthorised consecration’ attempted at TTD’s New Delhi temple

A group of staff and priests at the TTD’s Sri Balaji Mandir at Gol Market in New Delhi allegedly attempted to install a ‘Naga’ idol at the temple complex last month without securing permission from the authorities concerned and without following due religious rituals

According to sources, the idol was brought from an unverified source in Visakhapatnam, to which special ‘Puja’ was performed ahead of its consecration. However, the installation was opposed by another group of employees, which blew the lid off the matter and alerted the TTD.

The authorities have now traced the entire episode to Special Officer K. Rama Rao, under whose alleged guidance the team of priests and staff resorted to the ‘unofficial consecration’, the sources said.

The TTD Vigilance Department’s investigation also entails allegations of corruption and misconduct levelled against some staff in the New Delhi temple, which was established by the TTD on a parcel of 1.17 acre at Udyan Marg in 2013 at a cost of ₹11.5 crore.