The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Trust has once again come under massive controversy after it was revealed that for the past 10 years (2015–2025), fake polyester dupattas were supplied to the temple by passing them off as pure mulberry silk, causing a loss of over ₹54 crore to the trust.
SNPNEWS.IN (Gurmail Kamboj) – 10 December 2025, The world’s most visited Sanatana temple, Tirupati Balaji Temple (located on the Tirumala hills in Andhra Pradesh), is once again in the headlines due to a multi-crore scam. Earlier, in 2023 it was the theft from the Hundi (donation box), and in 2024 the supply of adulterated/fake desi ghee in laddus had shaken devotees’ faith.
After the previous controversies (laddu and cash theft), TTD Chairman B.R. Naidu ordered a thorough investigation into all items supplied to the temple. Vigilance officers collected samples of dupattas from the Tirupati warehouse and the temple itself and sent them to the Central Silk Board laboratories. The lab reports confirmed that the dupattas were 100% polyester, not silk.
On 9 December 2025, the TTD Board passed a resolution and handed over the case to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).
In 2015, TTD had signed a contract with VRS Exports (Andhra Pradesh) for the supply of pure silk dupattas. However, the company, in collusion with its sister concerns, allegedly supplied fake polyester dupattas worth over ₹54 crore from 2015 to 2025. Lab tests found them to be completely fake.
According to TTD rules, each dupatta was supposed to be:
● 1 metre wide × 2.3 metres long .
● Minimum weight 180 grams (at least 110 grams pure silk)
● Printed with “Om Namo Venkatesaya” and Vaishnava symbols (conch, chakra, naamam)
● Must carry the official Silk Mark hologram
None of these standards were met – the supplied pieces were 100% polyester and had no silk hologram.
These special dupattas are presented as honour/shawl to VIP donors and prominent personalities.
Previous Scandals at Tirupati Balaji Temple
● (Hundi) Cash Theft Case (2023): On 29 April 2023, during counting in the Parakamani hall, clerk C. Venkata Ravi Kumar (attached to Pedda Jeeyangar Mutt) was caught red-handed trying to steal US$900 (≈₹72,000) by hiding it in his underwear. CCTV footage revealed multiple thefts, totaling around US$11,000 (≈₹9 lakh). He had been stealing for nearly 20 years and had purchased properties worth over ₹100 crore in Tirupati, Chennai, and Hyderabad.
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The then Assistant Vigilance & Security Officer Y. Satish Kumar filed FIR No. 24/2023. Chargesheet was filed on 30 May 2023. However, Ravi Kumar offered to donate 7 properties worth ₹14 crore (now valued at over ₹140 crore) to TTD, and on 9 September 2023 the case was dismissed in Lok Adalat through a controversial “compromise”. In 2025, Ravi Kumar himself admitted the theft in a video.
The High Court later declared the Lok Adalat dismissal illegal and handed the probe to CID. CID summoned former TTD chairman Bhumana Karunakar Reddy. Shockingly, on 14 November 2025, complainant officer Satish Kumar was found dead on railway tracks under mysterious circumstances – the case is still under investigation.
● Laddu Adulteration Scandal (2024): On 18 September 2024, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu publicly alleged that during the previous YSR Congress regime, animal fat and chemicals were mixed in the ghee used for Tirupati laddus. NDDB lab (Gujarat) confirmed foreign fats in the ghee supplied by AR Dairy (Tamil Nadu).
SIT probe revealed that from 2019–2024, fake ghee worth ₹250 crore was supplied, with which 48.76 crore laddus were made – of which over 20 crore were made entirely with adulterated ghee and distributed to nearly 11 crore devotees. Companies like Bole Baba Dairy and Vaishnavi Dairy mixed vegetable ghee, chemicals, and very little real ghee.
Supreme Court formed an SIT in October 2024, which later handed the case to CBI. Several persons including Bole Baba Dairy directors were arrested. Final reports confirmed no animal fat but large-scale use of vegetable fat and chemicals.
Every year 2–3 crore devotees visit Lord Balaji. Such repeated scandals deeply hurt the sentiments and faith of millions of devotees.