Special Team To Probe Alleged Irregularities In Tirupati Temple Body

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has formed a Special Investigation Team to probe the irregularities in the Tirupati temple body amid allegations of animal fat being used to adulterate the ghee for the temple laddoos.

Addressing a press conference at his Undavalli residence, Mr Naidu said: "An Inspector General level or above officer-manned SIT will be formed. It will probe all the reasons, the misuse of power and give a report to the government. The government will take stringent action to avoid recurrences (laddu adulteration), there is no compromise".

Earlier, the ruling Telugu Desam Party had alleged that the former Chairman of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Trust, Bhumana Karunakar Reddy, and former executive officer AV Dharma Reddy had committed several irregularities in temple management over the last five years.

The party had said they will be held accountable.

The Chief Minister had said he would "clean up" the system, alleging that the irregularities had crept in during the rule of the erstwhile YSRCP government. "Many not-so-sacred things were done at Tirumala" over the last five years, he had said.  

He had also accused his predecessor at the top post, YS Jaganmohan Reddy, of appointing people close to him as TTD board members and using it for political gains.

Last week, the Chief Minister had said animal fat had been used to make Tirupati laddoo. After that, a lab report from NDDB was released which said samples of the ghee from Tirupati tested positive for fish oil, beef tallow, and lard during the rule of the erstwhile government of YS Jaganmohan Reddy.

The report was dated July 17.

Mr Reddy has accused Mr Naidu of being a "habitual liar" and written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging his intervention.