Miscreants steal electric bus in Tirumala, traced through GPS at Naidupeta

TIRUMALA: An electric bus of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) was stolen by unidentified miscreants at the TTD transport office in Tirumala in the wee hours of Sunday.

The TTD transport department and vigilance officials filed a complaint with the police about the incident. However, the electric bus was traced by the police after a few hours at Naidupeta by-pass road through a GPS (Global Positioning System) facility equipped in the bus.

Based on the CCTV footage, the police launched an inquiry and found that the unidentified miscreants travelled on the Tirumala ghat road at around 3:53 am on Sunday. A case was registered and further investigations were underway into the incident.

Meanwhile, free electric buses were being used for devotees in Tirumala hill and named as 'Srivari Dharma Ratham'. A total of 10 such electric buses were being operated for the devotees at the hill shrine since March. Each bus costs Rs 2 crore, and the TTD bought these buses for just Rs 40 lakh with subsidy.