According to sources the sari was donated by the chief minister in 2016 as part of his vow to fulfill state formation. Meanwhile the thief has since been caught and the sari recovered. The theft came to light as part of an audit undertaken by the endowment department of all temples in the state. Further the department has initiated action against some employees, including a superintendent in connection with the theft.
Accordingly E. Srinivas Rao, Additional Commissioner, Endowment department, issued orders to initiate disciplinary action against Kaleshwaram temple superintendent and former executive officer B. Srinivas, senior assistant U. Uma Maheshwar Rao and other employees for the theft. Moreover the theft of the silk sari offered to Goddess Parwati by the chief minister at the Kaleshwaram temple came to light on July 21, but was initially denied by the temple officials.
Presently, an inquiry by the endowment department
found that the sari the officials had submitted at the time of the audit was
not the one donated by the chief minister. Reports added when CCTV footage was
reviewed, it was revealed that an employee working in the temple stole the sari
from the storeroom and replaced it with another he had bought from Warangal. Moreover
Endowment officials transferred Naini Supriya, the temple’s Executive Officer
(EO) during the audit, to Warangal a couple of days ago and the new EO Saibaba
is yet to take charge.
