The Tirumala temple is back in the spotlight and this time the issue is about dupattas. After earlier controversies linked to laddus and cash handling, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams has now accused a vendor of running a decade-long fraud by supplying fake silk dupattas to the shrine. What many devotees believed were pure mulberry silk pieces may have actually been plain polyester.

As per TTD findings, the alleged scam came to notice when Chairman, BR Naidu, ordered a detailed review to check whether the dupattas met tender rules. These dupattas are usually given to donors and VIP break darshan ticketholders during the Vedasirvachanam at the Ranganayakula Mandapam.

The trust buys thousands of these silk pieces every year and spends several crores. But the recent review showed that the material supplied for many years did not match the required silk standards.

TTD tender rules say that the dupattas must be woven only in pure mulberry silk. They must use 20/22 denier yarn in both warp and weft with a minimum resultant count of 31.5 denier. Each piece must display “Om Namo Venkatesaya” in Sanskrit on one side and in Telugu on the other. Temple symbols like Sanku Chakra and Namam must be shown. The size, weight, borders and finish are also strictly defined. However, samples taken from TTD warehouses and from religious venues did not meet any of these specifications.

The vigilance team sent samples to the Central Silk Board laboratories in Bengaluru and Dharmavaram. Both labs confirmed that the dupattas were made entirely of polyester and not of mulberry silk.

Officials also said that the required silk hologram which is the simplest way to check authenticity was missing from every sample tested.

The dupattas were supplied by one vendor, VRS Export of Nagari, which has supplied several types of clothing to TTD for many years.

The enquiry found that VRS Export and its sister firms supplied cloth worth around Rs 54.95 crore between 2015 and 2025. Even more concerning was that TTD had already cleared a new order for another 15,000 dupattas each at about Rs 1389 without knowing that earlier consignments had allegedly failed quality checks.

After the vigilance findings, the TTD board passed a resolution asking the Andhra Pradesh Anti-Corruption Bureau to carry out a full investigation into the fraud.

BR Naidu said that criminal action must be taken against anyone involved in cheating the trust and devotees.