The Andhra Pradesh government formally issued orders forming a nine-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged adulteration of ghee used in making the famous Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) temple Laddu prasadam, said officials on Thursday.
The probe panel, headed by Guntur Range Inspector General of Police Sarvashresth Tripathi, also comprises nine officers including Visakhapatnam Range DIG Gopinath Jatti, Kadapa SP V Harshavardhan Raju, Tirupati Additional SP Venkat Rao, DSPs G Sitarama Rao and J Sivanarayana Swamy, Inspectors T Satyanarayana, (Annamayya), K Umamaheswar (NTR) and M Suryanarayana (Chittoor).
The probe panel have been given the responsibility to carry out a detailed investigation into the alleged use of adulterated ghee in the making of Tirupati Laddoos during the former government by Jagan Mohan Reddy based on the FIR lodged in Tirupati East police station.
“The SIT may call for relevant information and assistance from any Department of the Government in the course of the investigation. All government departments shall cooperate with the SIT in the discharge of its duties and duly submit any information or technical assistance called for. Similarly, the SIT may seek any external expert assistance duly requesting the Director General of Police,” the government order reads.
Tirupati Laddoo Row: The Controversy
A massive row erupted after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu claimed that substandard ingredients, including animal fat, were found in the Tirupati temple Laddoo prasadam offered to the deity and given to the devotees during the previous Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRCP government.
The ruling TDP claimed that a Gujarat-based livestock laboratory has confirmed adulteration in ghee samples provided by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which manages the famous Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple.
Referring to a purported lab report, TDP spokesperson Anam Venkata Ramana Reddy claimed the presence of ‘beef tallow, lard’ and fish oil in the ghee samples. The sample receipt date was July 9, 2024, and the lab report was dated July 16.
Jagan Reddy Refutes Charges
Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy vehemently denied the allegations levelled against him about the adulteration of ghees used in the making of Tirupati Laddoos. The YSRCP leader blamed Naidu for doing ‘politics in the name of God,’ and called him ‘a pathological and habitual liar.’
Addressing a press conference on September 20, Reddy said that the lab report, in which evidence of animal fat and beef oil in the laddoos emerged, is from July when N Chandrababu Naidu took over as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister.
Going ahead, Reddy labelled the current charges against him and his former administration as ‘false’ and ‘unnecessary’, claiming the entire row to be unwarranted.
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