The Andhra Pradesh government Sunday ordered an inquiry into the controversy surrounding the seizure, by Election Commission authorities, of gold belonging to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams in Tamil Nadu last week.
Chief Secretary L V Subrahmanyam directed Special Chief Secretary (Revenue) Manmohan Singh to conduct a probe into the security and procedural lapses in the transportation of temple gold, which led to the seizure by election authorities.
Official sources here said the Chief Secretary directed the Special CS to inquire into the conduct of TTD as well as its vigilance wing officials in the whole episode.
During routine searches ahead of the April 18 elections in Tamil Nadu, ECI flying squad intercepted a van in Tiruvallur district and found about 1,381 kgs of gold.
The occupants of the vehicle had claimed that the gold belonged to the TTD and was being transported to Tirupati from Chennai's Punjab National Bank, where it lay deposited for three years.
The gold was subsequently released after verification of facts but the TTD came under criticism over the manner in which the entire issue was handled.
Taking a serious note of it, the Chief Secretary appointed the Revenue Special CS to inquire into the matter, the sources said.
The Special CS has been asked to visit Tirumala, conduct the inquiry and submit a report by April 23.
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