Tirumala temple staff sacked for sharing porn link with devotees

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams’ (TTD) TV arm Sri Venkateswara Bhakti Channel, which telecasts spiritual programmes, has dismissed an employee for mailing a porn link to a devotee, an official said on Wednesday. "The SVBC management has terminated one of its employees on Wednesday, after his alleged involvement in forwarding a porn site link to a devotee has been proved," a TTD official told IANS.Venkata Krishna, a devotee from Hyderabad, sought some information on SVBC programme "Satamanam Bhavati" from the TV employee, but instead, received a porn link. "He (devotee) received a porn site link as a reply from the said employee through sb@svbcttd.org," the official said.

Disturbed by the development, Krishna took up the matter with TTD Chairman Y V Subba Reddy and executive officer Jawahar Reddy for immediate action. On receiving the complaint, both ordered a detailed inquiry into the matter. "A team consisting of 25 software engineers carried out a computer security audit in SVBC and a cyber cell has been constituted," said the official. The investigation proved that the attender was guilty in forwarding the link.Besides this, the vigilance enquiry also found that a few more employees were involved in wilful indecent conduct, and will also face action when proven guilty.Meanwhile, to protect and safeguard SVBC's reputation, some important decisions have been taken. Henceforth, all the TTD channel's computers will function under the supervision of the temple's IT wing, with each computer getting a password for security. Likewise, SVBC will be brought under the supervisory control of TTD vigilance. TTD is a conglomeration of 12 temples and their sub-shrines. It employs 14,000 people. Spread over 16.2 acres, the main Tirumala temple is dedicated to Lord Sri Venkateswara, also known as Srinivasa, Balaji and Venkatachalapati.