Devotee alleges tobacco in Tirupati laddu, temple authorities dismiss accusation

Donthu Padmavati, a resident of Khammam district, said that she found tobacco wrapped inside Tirupati laddu that was given to her as prasadam in after her visit to Tirupati temple on September 19.

Devotee alleges tobacco in Tirupati laddu (Photo credit: tv9 telugu)

A woman devotee alleged that she found tobacco wrapped inside a laddu that was given to her as prasadam at Venkateswara Swamy temple in Tirupati, reports said.

The woman identified as Donthu Padmavati, a resident of Khammam district, said that she found tobacco in the wrapped paper after her visit to Tirupati temple on September 19. The woman said that when she opened the wrapper to share the Prasadam with her family, she was shocked to find traces of tobacco in it.

“The prasadam is said to be holy and to find such contamination is heart breaking,” she was quoted as saying by India Today.

However, TTD has dismissed the claim that Tirupati laddu had tobacco in it. “Tirupati laddu  is prepared with utmost devotion. It is misleading and deplorable to suggest that tobacco was present in it. It’s a system that is very rigorously controlled,” TTD said in a statement.

TTD also asked the devotee to store the laddu for investigation.

‘Animal fat’ in Tirupati laddu:

This comes after a lab report showed that the ghee used to prepare Tirupati laddu was adulterated with beef tallow, fish oil and lard. These recent findings have led to doubts about the quality control measures in place at the TTD, the trust board which is responsible for managing the temple.

However, the previous YSRCP government has denied all allegations about adulteration and said that CM Chandrababu Naidu was indulging in diversion politics.

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