Tirumala now hit by ₹54 crore silk shawl scam after adulterated ghee and donation rows

AReinvigorated cozenage has strike the Tirupati temple, this clip involving silk. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the combine that manages Andhra Pradesh's Lord Venkateshwara shrine, has sought an Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) probe into a major shawl procurement scandal.According to the TTD, a vendor supplied polyester dupattas worth over ₹54 crore in place of silk ones for years, an official said on Wednesday. The silk shawls are traditionally used during the ‘aashirvachan’ (blessing) ritual at the Tirumala temple, PTI news agency reported.“Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams has requested the Andhra Pradesh government to initiate an Anti-Corruption Bureau probe against a fabric vendor for supplying over ₹54 crore worth polyester shawls instead of silken ones used in 'aashirvachan' rituals,” the news agency quoted a TTD official.The irregularity surfaced after officials noticed that the material being supplied did not resemble silk. This prompted a closer examination of recent consignments.Lab tests confirm shawls were substandardThe TTD ordered laboratory tests on fabric samples, conducted in Dharmavaram in Sri Satya Sai district and in Bengaluru, the report added. The results were clear: the shawls failed tender specifications and were nowhere close to the silk quality mandated in the contract.An internal vigilance inquiry followed in November. A detailed report was then submitted to the TTD board, outlining how the vendor allegedly passed off inferior polyester fabric as silk over an extended period.The vigilance wing also examined the supplier’s financial transactions and forwarded its findings to the board. The ACB is now expected to independently verify these details.Earlier scamsThe shawl scam comes on the heels of two other major controversies involving the country’s richest Hindu shrine, which is the custodian of the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple.In September last year, the TTD had filed a police complaint against a Tamil Nadu-based dairy company for allegedly supplying ghee adulterated with animal fat. The ghee is used to make the temple’s famed laddu ‘prasadam’ [food offered to dieties which is later distributed among devotees].Earlier this year, the state Crime Investigation Department began probing the alleged theft of foreign currency donated at the temple’s ‘Hundi’. A clerk at the Parakamani (counting centre) is suspected to have siphoned off notes during counting.