TIRUPATI: Alipiri police arrested a 40-year-old man and six daily wage workers on charges of illegally digging a tunnel in search of hidden treasures in the Seshachalam hillocks near BTR colony at Mangalam area in Tirupati late on Sunday night.
According to Alipiri Circle Inspector B Devendra Kumar, the treasure hunter, Manku Naidu, a painter by profession, with the help of workers, dug an 80-ft tunnel in the hillocks, located deep in the forest and 3 km away from BTR Colony, in search of “hidden treasure”. Naidu and his workers have been digging the tunnel for the past one year.
“Some colony residents noticed a group of people going towards the hillock on Sunday. Suspecting their movements, they alerted the police. We immediately rushed to the spot and arrested the gang. We also inspected the tunnel and collected evidence,” the CI said.
A native of Anakapalle, Naidu shifted his base to Tirupati in 2014 and used to go for painting. Because of his interest in treasures, Naidu joined hands with a self-styled guruji, Ramaiah Swamy. Naidu believed in guruji’s story that he decoded some inscriptions, which “showed” a path to treasures kept in two underground rooms in Seshachalam hillocks. They both began digging the tunnel using explosives a year ago. The ‘guruji’ died six months ago, but Naidu continued his treasure hunt.