Probe team awaits Prudhvi’s consent for voice sample test

Tirupati: The vigilance wing of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has intensified its probe into the infamous episode involving Tollywood actor Prudhvi Raj, who stepped down as chairman of TTD-run Sri Venkateswara Bhakti channel (SVBC) on Sunday after an audio clip of his alleged intimate talk with a female employee of the channel went viral.
TTD trust board chairman Y V Subba Reddy, who has asked the vigilance wing to probe the SVBC episode, said voice samples from the audio clip would be sent to the forensic lab for analysis.On Monday, vigilance wing sleuths questioned the channel’s CEO Yelamanchili Venkata Nagesh and other staff.
Sources said two woman hair stylists associated with the film industry were engaged on assignment basis by the SVBC ahead of the annual Tirumala Brahmotsavams in September 2019. Both were reportedly recommended by Prudhvi Raj. While SVBC normally pays Rs 15,000 per month to staff engaged on assignment basis, the two hair stylists were offered Rs 18,000 per month.
However, their services were terminated in November after the TTD management found irregularities in some of the appointments carried out at SVBC. It has been learnt that the voice of the woman in the audio clip belongs to one of the hair stylists. The vigilence wing sleuths are now trying to contact the woman to check the authenticity of the audio clip and also to find out if she was being harassed by Prudhvi Raj, as is being alleged.
Meanwhile, the vigilance wing is waiting for Prudhvi Raj’s consent to send his voice sample for forensic test. Though the actor said he’s ready for a vigilance enquiry into the episode, while also claiming that the voice in the audio clip was not his, there’s a legal angle to the whole thing as no police complaint has been filed yet, neither by the actor nor by the aggrieved party, and till that happens, the vigilance wing can send his voice sample only after the actor’s consent.
While stepping down as SVBC chairman on Sunday, Prudhvi Raj claimed that he had lodged a complaint with the Tirupati urban police over the issue, but sources in the police department said no complaint has been received yet, neither from him nor from the woman whose voice can be heard in the audio clip.