Tobacco wrapped in small paper found in Tirupati prasadam by a devotee

Amid the ongoing Tirupati Laddu row, a new set of allegations has been attached to the prasadam. After animal fat and substandard ghee were found in the laddus that are a part of the prasadam, tobacco pieces were found in one of them.

Donthu Padmavati, a resident of Khammam district, said she discovered the tobacco in the Laddu after she visited the temple on September 19. She shared, "As I was about to distribute the laddu, I was horrified to find pieces of tobacco wrapped in a small paper." She further added, "The prasadam is supposed to be sacred, and to find such contamination is heartbreaking."

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Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, announced a Special Investigation Team to probe the allegations. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued a notice to A R Dairy Food Private Ltd asking, ‘Why its central licence should not be suspended for contravention of the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulation, 2011.’ According to the notice, FSSAI received information from The Director of the Institute of Preventive Medicine, Mangalagiri (Andhra Pradesh), stating that A R Dairy Food Private Ltd in Dindigul was one of the suppliers of ghee to TTD for the last four years.

Following these accusations, on Monday, a four-hour purification ritual was carried out at the revered shrine to propitiate Lord Venkateswara Swamy to purify the shrine.