Corruption not only in ghee; new fraud in Tirupati temple exposed, scam of Rs 54 crores

AMARAVATI: Report that polyester cloth dupattas (shawls) were given for use in temple rituals instead of silk. The fraud took place in the famous Tirumala Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh. It is reported that a fraud of about 54 crores was committed from 2015 to 2025.

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) temple trust had awarded a contract for dupattas made of mulberry silk fabric to be given to those who donated to the temple and used for temple rituals. However, the internal vigilance investigation found that the contractor had supplied dupattas made of 100% polyester fabric. The investigation was initiated after the TTD board headed by B R Naidu raised concerns. He also said that an Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) probe has been sought into the incident.

The contractor had billed Rs 1,300 for a shawl worth around Rs 350. It was only after scientific testing of the shawl samples, including at a laboratory under the Central Silk Board (CSB), that it was discovered that polyester fabric was being used instead of silk. The vigilance investigation also found that the silk hologram, which is mandatory to ensure that it is pure silk, was not present on these dupattas.

The contracts during the fraud period were taken over by sister companies of the same company. The temple trust cancelled all contracts with these companies after the corruption came to light. The new corruption comes to light days after news broke that adulterated or fake ghee was being used to make laddus distributed by the temple.