Tirupati Devaswom Board suspends employee for attending church prayers

HYDERABAD: An employee of the Tirupati temple has been suspended for attending prayers in a church. The Tirupati Devaswom has suspended assistant executive officer A Rajasekhara Babu of Puttur in Tirupati. The authorities have clarified that the action was taken after it was found that he follows a non-Hindu faith.

The service rules say that only those who follow Hindu religious beliefs are eligible to work in the temple. It also says that employees should refrain from non-Hindu customs and lifestyles. The Devaswom Board is authorized to take strong action against those who act contrary to this. Tirupati Devaswom is an autonomous institution that operates according to Hindu religious customs.

The Devaswom authorities had warned Rajasekhara Babu after found him regularly attending Sunday prayers in the church. He was asked to avoid attending the prayers of other religions as it is against the service rules. However, the decision to take action was taken after the investigation revealed that he was participating in the prayers again.

The board had recently decided to give non-Hindu employees working in various institutions of the Tirupati Devaswom Board the opportunity to transfer to other departments of the state government or accept voluntary retirement. About eighteen people, including teachers and technical staff, had earlier been transferred for similar reasons.