Tirupati prasadam row: Devotee claims tobacco found in laddoo after animal fat - Watch

While the controversy surrounding the presence of animal fat in prasadam (offering) at the Tirupati temple in India's Andhra Pradesh had barely died down, a devotee has now claimed that shefoundtobacco in the laddoo offered at the temple.

The devotee, Donthu Padmavati, a resident ofKhammam district, said she found tobacco in the prasadam during her visit to the Temple last week. She had brought the laddoos home to share with family and neighbours when she made the shocking discovery.

"As I was about to distribute the laddoo, I was horrified to find pieces of tobacco wrapped in a small paper.The prasadam is supposed to be sacred, and to find such contamination is heartbreaking," she said.

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The development, if true, adds to the recent revelations and raises serious questions on the integrity of the temple board, under whose nose, adulterated products have found their way into the offerings - revered by the millions of devotees visiting the holy site.

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Purification ritual

The incident came to light after a purification ritual was carried out in the temple as reports claimed that prasadam prepared in the kitchen was adulterated with animal fats, including beef tallows.

The ritual called the Mahashanti Yagam was performed in strict accordance with the shastras (manual with rules) on Monday (Sep 23) early morning.

Executive officer of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), Shamala Rao, along with other officials and priests, participated in thepurification ritual.

The controversy erupted after Chief MinisterChandrababu Naidu last week alleged that his predecessor Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government allowed the use of substandard ingredients in the preparation of laddoos.

A lab report from Gujarat’s NDDB CALF lab confirmed the presence of lard, beef tallow and fish oil in ghee samples.

(With inputs from agencies)