There was a movie-like drama in the temple city of Tirupati in the forsaken hours of Saturday (January 3, 2026) – a thrilling three-hour face-off that seemed to be straight out of a movie rather than real life. A man, who crossed all the security hurdles and climbed up the mammoth Gopuram of the ancient ‘Sri Govindaraja Swamy‘ Temple in an inebriated condition on Friday night, has finally been arrested. What came next was a high-stakes rescue operation that revealed major chinks in the armor of one of India’s most powerful religious institutions.
The Midnight Ascent: Preamble
The incident occurred at around midnight as the temple was not crowded and it was guarded by vigilance staff of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD). The man was identified as Kuthadi Thirupathi, a daily-wage construction labourer from Nizamabad district in Telangana who was said to have consumed alcohol before going to the temple.
“He probably got lost amidst a small number of devotees returning home in the early hours. He reportedly climbed on his bare hands to gain some height and then pulled himself up the Nadimi Gopuram using a jerry-built tent he had erected inside it and supported by scaffolding. Upon scaling a good distance, he didn’t just stop there; instead he started madly trying to destroy the sacred “Kalasams” (golden finials) of the tower with a big rod that he had brought along with him.
The silhouette was seen crawling on the archaic structure when it immediately triggered the TTD vigilance. Just minutes later, the Tirupati East Police and local fire services department descended on the temple area making this spiritual site look like a war zone.
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A Tense 3-Hour Standoff
What started as a security breach swiftly devolved into a perilous rescue process. The man’s perilous drunken condition and the vertiginous elevation at which he hung him made close contact too precarious for either immured to undertake.
The Demands: Somehow, as the police tried to talk him down via megaphone Thirupathi yelled back his “conditions.” I will not go down till I have had a quarter-bottle of spirit, he exclaimed: and he did not descend until the request was complied with!
The Rescue: Standing firm against the bizarre demand, firefighters utilized special tall ladders and safety ropes. A squad of officers eventually cornered him on a slim ledge in the tower.
The Arrest: After intense negotiation and tactical exercise that last for nearly three hours, the rescue team managed to overpower Thirupathi and finally pull him down around 3:00 am. He was arrested and later shifted to the Tirupati East Police Station for medical examination and interrogation.
Glaring Security Lapses Under Fire
While the immediate threat has been dealt with, the incident has provoked an outpouring of political and public anger over the security at Tirupati’s heritage locations. This is not the first time that Sri Govindaraja Swamy Temple has hit headlines for wrong reasons. The temple was in the news a few years ago after crowns were stolen from the deity, an incident which it was said had precipitated a “watertight” security revamp.
Dr M. Gurumoorthy, the MP from Tirupati lamented “How can an inebriated person climb such a big Gopuram and nobody notices?” It is unimaginable that a man could enter, climb and attempt destruction of the sanctimonious Kalasams, whilst we are still recovering from previous thefts and perpetual threats.” Where was the vigilance?” he inquired in a public statement.
TTD has ordered an internal probe to find out whether there was a breach in patrolling or the CCTV monitoring got delayed in shadowing movement of intruder on real time basis. Initial reports indicate that the ongoing works constructed for renovation purposes provided the “climbing aid” to man, as he may not be able to continue with the act without such an aid in place inside the temple inner circle.
The Aftermath: Reaction and Legalisation
Thirupathi Kuthadi now faces multiple charges under the Indian Penal Code, including trespassing on a place of worship and attempted desecration of public property. He told police upon initial questioning that he had been “moved by a divine spirit” to scale the tower, but authorities consider it an open-and-shut case of public intoxication and criminal negligence.
A ‘Samprokshana’ (purification ritual) was conducted by temple priests early on Saturday to sanctify the Gopuram after the violation. Engineers are inspecting the two kalasams said to have been damaged by him when he tried to dislodge them.
This should be an eye-opener to temple managements throughout the country. In the age of security fear heavily influenced by threats from outside as that seen with terror threats, often we overlook the one ‘inside’ such as lassitude in basic vigilance.
