The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the infamous Tirupati Laddu adulteration case has been asked to halt its inquiry till October 3, which is the next hearing date of the case in the Supreme Court. Andhra DGP Dwaraka Tirumala Rao said the suspension was a precautionary measure to maintain the integrity of the probe.

"There is a petition filed before the Supreme Court about the constitution of SIT. So, some arguments went on yesterday. So, we have been informed to stall the further proceedings till 3rd October. So, our team has come, headed by an IG. Yesterday and the day before, they visited various places of TTD, the procurement area and the sample collection area and they collected a lot of information. They examined people and recorded statements. In the meantime, last evening, we were informed that the Supreme Court said to halt for some time. So, in adherence to the Supreme Court order, we have stopped for the time being," Rao said while talking to ANI. 

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The apex court, while hearing the case of the alleged presence of animal fat in Tirupati laddus, had said prima facie there was no evidence to prove that the laddus were made from contaminated ghee at Tirumala Tirupati temple. It also chided Andhra Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu for bringing the issue into the public domain, asserting that the ‘gods should be kept away from the politics’.

In the hearing involving four petitions, including one submitted by Subramanian Swamy, a bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan questioned why the prasadam had not been sent for testing. Besides, the bench asked both the state and the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) to provide evidence proving the use of contaminated ghee in the preparation of the laddus.

"There are some disclaimers in the lab report. It is not clear at all. It says rejected ghee was subjected to the test. If you yourself have ordered an investigation, what was the need to go to the press? The report came in July and the statement was made in Sept. The report says that was not the material used for prasadam," the bench said.

Andhra CM and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu made serious allegations against the Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRCP government, stating that substandard materials and animal fat were used to prepare sacred Tirupati Laddu.

Following the controversy, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) claimed that a lab report has confirmed this. TDP stated that, after testing the ghee samples used in the laddus, Gujarat's NDDB CALF Laboratory confirmed the adulteration.

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Naidu had announced a SIT probe into the incident. Besides, several petitions were also filed in the Supreme Court as well.