On the third day of its investigation into the alleged adulteration of Tirupati laddu, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) inspected ghee t...
On the third day of its investigation into the alleged adulteration of Tirupati laddu, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) inspected ghee tankers and the lab at Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) on Monday.
The SIT, constituted by the Andhra Pradesh
government, inspected various places in Tirumala.
Headed by Guntur range Inspector General of Police
(IG) Sarvashresth Tripathi, the SIT checked ghee tankers and the lab of TTD,
which manages the affairs of the world-famous Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple.
They also went around the flour mill of TTD and
checked the quality of wheat and other ingredients procured by the authorities
for making laddu prasadam.
The SIT spoke to TTD officials concerned about the
method they adopt to check the quality of the materials they procure. They
enquired about the quality check procedure followed in respect of ghee.
During their visit to TTD premises, the SIT noticed
the arrival of a few ghee tankers. They collected a few samples. At the TTD
lab, the SIT member observed the procedure adopted by the technical staff to
test the purity of ghee.
The SIT recorded the statements of the TTD
officials. The team later returned to Tirupati. It is likely to examine the
employees of the kitchen where laddus are prepared.
Meanwhile, some SIT members have been reportedly
sent to Dindigul in Tamil Nadu to inspect the AR Dairy Food Private Limited and
question its officials.
On July 23, the TTD returned four ghee tankers
supplied by AR Dairy after their samples failed the quality tests. Subsequent
tests conducted at NDDB-CALF in Gujarat revealed that the ghee was adulterated.
Following this, the TTD blacklisted the company.
The issue kicked up a storm after Chief Minister N.
Chandrababu Naidu alleged on September 18 that ghee adulterated with animal
fats was used in making laddus during YSR Congress Party rule.
Naidu announced a probe into the allegations by
SIT. Visakhapatnam range Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Gopinath
Jatti and Kadapa SP V. Harshvardhan Raju are among the members of the SIT.
The YSRCP president and former chief minister Y. S.
Jagan Mohan Reddy accused Naidu of tarnishing the sanctity of the Tirumala
temple with his false allegations.
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