The management of the richest temple in the world Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) was locked in a storm following the suspension of three senior officials in the infamour case of the 300 missing gold dollars’.

For the first time in the annals of the history of the TTD, the management has suspended in one go, the services of three senior officials besides terminating the services of the Parapathyedar (Officer on Special Duty) Tirumala temple.

While Special Grade Deputy Executive Officer R Prabhakar Reddy, Deputy Executive Engineer  A. Vasudevan and Superintendent E. Ramachandra Reddy were kept on suspension, the OSD P. Seshadri services were terminated with immediate effect. Known as `Dollar’ Seshadri, had an extended stint beyond retirement in 2006 and had even been sole custodian of the treasury for almost ten years, in violation of the TTD rule book which envisages a double key system.

However, this has resulted protest from the employees of the TTD and all the political parties, including the ruling Congress rallied behind the employees demanding revocation of suspension orders. The leaders of all parties rallied behind the TTD employees who held a mass dharna in front of the TTD’s headquarters in Tirupati on Tuesday.

Among those who visited the dharna camp and expressed solidarity with the affected officials and agitating employees were, CPM State secretary B.V. Raghavulu, Tirupati Congress legislator M. Venkatramana, and State BJYM president G. Bhanuprakasha Reddy.

Senior TDP leader Kodela Sivaprasada Rao telephonically expressed the party’s support to the union in the hour of ‘crisis’. Tirupati Congress MP, Chintha Mohan who is expected to reach here on Wednesday, has in a fax message from Delhi expressed his ‘shock’ over the action of the TTD management against senior officers with ‘impeccable records’.