Click to play videoNew Delhi: The temples of the Tirumala Tirupati Devashthanam are the richest in India and second richest in the world, owning gold and jewellery worth Rs 55,000 crore.
But how safe is all that wealth? Venkataramna Dikshulu, one of the safekeepers of the Lord's gold has now been arrested by the police for mortgaging some of it of it for Rs 9 lakh.
“My financial conditions were not good that's why I had to do this. Nobody is responsible for this. I had only mortgaged this jewellery,” says Dikshulu.
Earlier this month the Andhra High Court had ordered an inventory of the wealth after a petitioner expressed doubts over its safety.
Two gold necklaces were found missing in this process . Police are now investigating whether this is a bigger racket.
But with the Tirupati temples never having kept any records of their wealth over the centuries, this is not going to be an easy task.
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