Three Held in Tirumala for Room Fraud Using Fake Aadhaar Cards

Police said the accused exploited the high demand for accommodation in Tirumala by creating fake Aadhaar cards after changing photos and Aadhaar numbers in their mobile phones. Using these fake identity cards, they allegedly obtained rooms at the Central Reception Office (CRO) by paying the official tariff of ₹50 or ₹100 and later resold the rooms to pilgrims for ₹1,000 to ₹3,000.

In some cases, the same room was reportedly allocated to two or three different pilgrims, leading to cheating.

It was stated that the arrested persons were Ganga Prasad Keshavrao Kharode (34) from Hingoli district of Maharashtra, Vandavasi Dinesh (27) from Badvel in Kadapa district and Pattipati Kishore Kumar (33) from Khammam city of Telangana.

The case was registered at Tirumala Two Town police station following a complaint from the TTD Vigilance and Security wing. A special investigation was launched into the incident on the instructions of Superintendent of Police L. Subbarayudu.

The police, along with TTD surveillance and security personnel, kept surveillance and caught the trio as they tried to secure more rooms using fake Aadhaar cards. Six fake Aadhaar cards and two mobile phones used to prepare them were seized. The suspects who were referred to the courthouse were arrested and sent to prison.