From hundi cash and laddus at Tirumala to missing ornaments in Padmanabhaswamy and idol smuggling in Tamil Nadu, temple thefts reveal a recurring crisis of faith, money, mismanagement.
The sacred Tirumala temple, which was earlier embroiled in a controversy over alleged irregularities in the sale of its famed laddus, is once again in the spotlight—this time for what the BJP describes as a Rs 100 crore theft from the ‘Parakamani ‘—the donation box. The party has accused the previous YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government of presiding over a scam that not only shook the temple’s financial sanctity but also betrayed the faith of millions of devotees.
According to Andhra Pradesh’s ruling Telugu Desam Party leader Nara Lokesh, over Rs 100 crore was stolen from the temple during Reddy’s regime. Lokesh had also shared purported CCTV footage on X, large scale misappropriation of Lord Venkateswara’s offerings. “Thieves infiltrated Tirumala during Jagan’s five-year rule…corruption reigned supreme…Jagan turned Andhra Pradesh into a haven for thieves, looters, and mafia dons. The Jagan gang plundered mines, lands, forests, and all resources, along with exploiting the people… and in the end, they did not even spare the sacred property of Lord Venkateswara in Tirumala,” he claimed.
The scandal surfaced when an official was caught red-handed stealing foreign currency from the hundi in 2023, the question is why is BJP and its ally TDP raising the issue now. According to the ruling alliance, instead of a transparent probe, a compromise was engineered through a Lok Adalat, properties worth crores were donated back to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) and the case was dismissed, giving the impression of a quiet settlement rather than justice. BJP leaders claim that the stolen money was invested in real estate and even diverted to the then CMs.
The YSRCP, however, rejects the allegations as politically motivated. Insisting that assets worth about Rs 14 crore were recovered and handed over to the TTD, it accused BJP and TDP of exaggerating figures to inflame religious sentiments and gain political mileage.
Beyond Tirumala, these allegations underscore a larger pattern of temple thefts across India. In Kerala, the Padmanabhaswamy Temple, regarded as the richest in the world, faced questions in 2017 when an audit revealed missing gold ornaments. In Mumbai, staff at the Siddhivinayak Temple were caught misappropriating hundi collections. Varanasi’s Kashi Vishwanath Temple reported jewellery thefts in 2019, while Odisha’s Jagannath Temple saw silver plates worth lakhs stolen from its kitchen in 2015. Tirumala itself had earlier seen allegations of a missing diamond-studded crown in 2009.
The widespread theft of ancient idols in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over the years saw countless rare idols smuggled abroad, some ending up in international auctions and museums. While some have been recovered, many remain lost—a reminder of how vulnerable India’s temple heritage remains. According to those aware of functioning of such managements, whether it is hundi cash, temple ornaments, or priceless idols, temples remain persistently vulnerable to theft, often aided by insider complicity.
