Anantapur (Andhra Pradesh), Nov 14 (PTI) A government official, who worked with TTD and reported a cash offerings theft at the Tirupati temple, was found dead under suspicious circumstances in the district on Friday, police said.

Anantapur district Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Rohit Kumar Choudhary said that the body of Satish Kumar was found on the railway tracks and was shifted to the Government General Hospital for a post-mortem.

"The circumstances surrounding Satish Kumar's death remain unclear at this stage, and the identity is also yet to be ascertained," Choudhary told PTI, noting that investigators are awaiting forensic examination results to determine if there was any foul play.

Police received information at around 11 am when railway workers discovered the body during routine maintenance work and immediately alerted Government Railway Police officials.

Incidentally, Satish Kumar had filed a complaint against Ravi Kumar for allegedly stealing from the Tirupati temple's cash (offerings) counting centre, known as Parakamani.

Satish Kumar was regarded as a key officer in the Parakamani theft case at the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in Tirumala.

He had filed a complaint in April 2023 against senior assistant Ravi Kumar, alleging that he had stolen money during the counting of cash offerings received by the deity.

At that time, Satish Kumar was working in the Parakamani section and reportedly caught Ravi Kumar misappropriating money from the offerings, which led to a major investigation under the TDP-led government.

Meanwhile, Satish Kumar's death has sparked a verbal volley between ruling TDP and opposition YSRCP leaders.

TDP spokesperson Pattabhi Ram Kommareddy alleged that Satish Kumar had faced threats to withdraw his complaint.

Kommareddy said that Satish Kumar had been summoned by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for questioning today, but was ultimately found dead on a railway track.

He questioned claims of suicide, pointing to alleged injuries on Satish Kumar's face and hinting that he may have been assaulted.

Reacting to Satish Kumar's death, YSRCP senior leader Sake Sailajanath alleged that Satish Kumar had faced harassment from SIT officials and demanded a judicial probe.

He said that only an impartial judicial investigation could clarify the events surrounding the officer’s death, alleging that coercive questioning and escalating political accusations had distorted the circumstances.

He also accused the NDA coalition government of "turning the sacred TTD into a political theatre for its selfish agenda." PTI MS STH SSK ROH

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)