Maharashtra Man Arrested for Stealing TTD's Electric Bus During Festival in Tirumala

Tirupati: The Tirumala crime branch police have arrested a native of Maharashtra on the charge of stealing an electric bus owned and operated by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD). He drove it for a distance of over 100km and then abandoned it.

The bus was being used to transport devotees free of charge. The suspect, Nilavar Vishnu (20) from Peta Varja Village in Nanded district, upon his arrest, was found in possession of the bus key.

ASP Vimala Kumari told the media on Tuesday that Vishnu was arrested on Monday evening while hanging around the Bharati private bus parking lot near the central bus station in Tirupati.

Vishnu had run away from a government children's welfare hostel in Saidabad in 2021, after his stay there for over 10 years. He became a habitual offender and got involved in various petty crimes.

He recently arrived in Tirumala and established a connection with the electric bus staff there. Vishnu stole the bus from the charging station at the GNC toll point during the intervening night of Sept 23 and 24.

In response to a complaint from TTD's transport authorities, the Tirumala crime police reviewed the CCTV footage. They noticed the bus leaving the ghat road at 3.53am, heading towards Tirupati.

“We deployed teams to locate the missing bus and apprehend the culprit. The vehicle, driven away by Vishnu, was eventually discovered abandoned on the Naidupeta-Sullurpet highway the same day,” the ASP said.

The Tirumala crime police initiated a search operation and arrested Vishnu on Monday evening near the Bharati private bus parking area. Tirupati SP, Parameswara Reddy, praised the police team for solving the case.

The theft of the electric bus has exposed the security flaws in Tirumala, especially during the annual Brahmotsavams event. This, despite the deployment of a large number of security personnel.

The bus, equipped with GPS, passed through two toll plazas, at the start and end of the first ghat road, without raising any suspicion. The accused then drove the bus to Naidupeta, nearly 100 km away from Tirumala, on the national highway.

Embarrassed, the TTD has ordered a review of the security cover in Tirumala.