SPF personnel beat up Tirumala pilgrim for carrying chewing tobacco into Tirupati temple premises

Tirupati: A video of a pilgrim from Chengalpattu in Tamil Nadu being beaten up by Special Protection Force (SPF) personnel at the TTD Alipiri check at Tirupati on Thursday has been doing the rounds. The pilgrim, Narayana Swamy, was carrying two gutkha (chewing tobacco) packets when on-duty security personnel seized the sachets and threw them into a dustbin.

The security personnel told him that these packets are prohibited at Tirumala, but the pilgrim allegedly paid no heed and retrieved the gutkha packets from the dustbin. Enraged by this, the security personnel caught the pilgrim by his collar and dragged him to the ground.

However, reports suggest that the pilgrim attacked the security personnel first. TTD executive officer Anil Kumar Singhal has asked the chief security and vigilance officer to submit a report after a probe is conducted.