PIL in Supreme Court seeks SIT probe into Tirupati laddu row

A public interest litigation (PIL) matter has been filed in the Supreme Court, seeking a probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the alleged use of animal fat in Tirupati laddus.

The petition filed by Surjit Singh Yadav, a farmer and the president of the Hindu Sena, has contended that the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), by serving "laddu prasadam" prepared using animal fat instead of ghee to devotees at the Sri Venkatswara Swamy temple, has ridiculed the Hindu religion and outraged the sentiments of Hindus.

The plea has said the allegation of using animal fat in preparing the "laddu prasadam" at the Sri Venkatswara Swamy temple has shaken the conscience of the Hindu community and outraged the religious feelings and sentiments of its members.

The TTD is the official custodian of the Sri Venkateswara temple in Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. "The petition has been filed for the benefit of the public in general, who may be incapable of accessing the court themselves on account of being not fully/properly equipped, financially as well as legally, and thus, in no position to resort to the remedy of 'Public Interest Litigation'," the plea has said.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu's claim that animal fat was used in preparing Tirupati laddus during the previous YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government in the southern state has triggered a massive political row, with the YSR Congress Party accusing Naidu of indulging in "heinous allegations" for political gains and the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in the state circulating a laboratory report to back its claim.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from PTI)