Tirumala Brahmotsavams: Geo-tagging, surveillance help trace missing devotees

Tirupati: For police personnel on duty at Tirumala during the Brahmotsavams, keeping watch over the crowds has also meant identifying people who have lost contact with their families. In recent days, the surveillance operation has helped trace three adults reported missing from their homes and four girls who were separated from their parents at the hill shrine.

The cases have been detected through two different measures being used during the festival. Children and other vulnerable devotees are being geo tagged so that their identity and family details can be established if they are found alone, while police personnel are questioning people who appear to be disoriented, distressed or unable to explain their presence at crowded locations. A man from Tamil Nadu, who had been missing since November 2025, was among those identified during the surveillance.

Police questioned him and subsequently verified his details with their Tamil Nadu counterparts. They found that a missing person case had been registered at Neelankarai police station in Chennai. His wife was informed and he was handed over to her. Police also traced an Anakapalli businessman who had been missing for about a month. Verification with Anakapalli police established his identity and his son was informed. In another case, a 61 year old man from Chirala who had left home about 15 days earlier following a family dispute was found at Tirumala and reunited with his son.

The child safety programme has operated on a much larger scale. Police have geo-tagged 52,005 children since September 15, and four girls who went missing during the Brahmotsavams have been traced and reunited with their parents. An elderly woman who went missing was also traced and handed over to her family.

Tirupati district SP L Subba Rayudu said the information recorded during geo tagging allows police to establish the identity of children found separated from their families and contact their parents or guardians. “Our personnel at crowded locations can use the tag details to facilitate the child’s quick reunion with the family,” he said.

The police operation covers the trekking routes, four mada streets, galleries, bus stations and accommodation areas.

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Pradeep Vennelakanti

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