The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is expected to pay ex gratia to the kin of Kota Padmanabham, who died on Sunday, three months after he was allegedly assaulted by women security guards in the queue leading to the Sri Venkateswara temple at Tirumala.
The patient, who was allegedly assaulted on March 20, was in coma for over three months before breathing his last. The issue remains contentious even today with the patient’s kin accusing the TTD’s security persons of high-handedness and the management defending its staff.
On the day of the incident, senior officials explained it away as mere ‘pushing and jostling’ in the queue. In fact, the staff had helped Padmanabham and provided him drinking water, they said.
Serious health issues
On the same day, Padmanabham developed serious health issues and was rushed to the Aswini Hospital at Tirumala and later to the TTD-run SVIMS hospital only to be placed on a ventilator all these days. The TTD had announced that it would bear the cost of treatment.
Meanwhile, it is learnt that the TTD management will pay an undisclosed amount as compensation/ex gratia to the kin of the deceased. It is a practice followed by the TTD on humanitarian grounds to compensate the death (natural or accidental) of pilgrims in Tirumala. The amount varies from ₹1 lakh to ₹3 lakh.
