Tirupati laddu row: Consumer Affairs Dept to wait for FSSAI report before further action
New Delhi (PTI): Amid the ongoing controversy over Tirupati laddu, Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare on Monday said her department will consider additional measures to monitor ghee quality in the market only after receiving the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) report.
"We will wait for its report," Khare stated during a media briefing on the Modi 3.0 government's 100-day achievements.
She emphasised that food safety falls under FSSAI's purview, adding, "We should all wait for the FSSAI to take action."
Responding to queries about potential pre-festive season checks on ghee quality, Khare said, "We will take more action, if required, after the FSSAI report and provided there are consumer complaints on the National Consumer Helpline (NCH)."
The secretary clarified that food-related complaints received on NCH are typically forwarded to FSSAI for action, given their expertise in the matter.
The controversy has sparked reactions across states. Karnataka has mandated testing of temple prasadam and specified the use of only Nandini ghee for the preparation. In Uttar Pradesh, the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) has collected 13 samples of 'prasadam' from prominent temples in Mathura for testing.
The issue came to light after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu alleged on September 18 that the previous Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government had used substandard ingredients and animal fat in Tirupati laddus. Naidu subsequently announced a Special Investigation Team to probe these claims.
As the controversy continues to reverberate nationwide, various quarters are demanding steps to safeguard the sanctity of Hindu temples and their 'prasadam'.
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Jharkhand horror: Man kills live-in partner, chops body into 40 pieces
Ranchi (PTI): A 25-year-old man, who works as a butcher, allegedly strangled to death his live-in partner and chopped her body into 40 to 50 pieces in a forested area in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Naresh Bhengra, was arrested.
The matter came to light after around a fortnight after the killing when a stray dog was found with human body parts near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.
Bhengra was in a live-in relationship with the deceased, a 24-year-old woman also from Khunti district, in Tamil Nadu for the past couple of years. Sometime back, he returned to Jharkhand, got married to another woman without telling his partner anything and went back to the southern state without his wife to join her.
"The brutal incident occurred on November 8 when they reached Khunti as the accused who had married another woman did not wish to take her home. Instead, he took her to a forest near his house at Jordag village in Jariagarh police station and chopped the body into pieces. The man has been arrested," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar told PTI.
Inspector Ashok Singh who investigated the case said the man worked in a butcher shop in Tamil Nadu and was expert in slicing chicken.
“He admitted chopping the body parts of the woman into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving those in the forest for wild animals to feast on. The police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog in the area was seen with a hand," Singh told PTI.
Singh said that the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 24 and headed to the man's village.
"Under a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an autorickshaw near his home and asked her to wait. He returned with sharp weapons and strangulated her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his home to live with his wife," Singh said.
The woman, however, had informed her mother that she had boarded a train and would be living with her partner, the police officer said.
Following the recovery of body parts, a bag was also found in the forest with the murdered woman's belongings including her Aadhaar card. The mother of the woman was called at the spot and she identified her daughter's belongings.
"The mother suspected the man behind the crime who after being nabbed by the police admitted to chopping the woman into pieces," the official added.
The incident has sent shockwaves among people in the region, with the Shraddha Walker murder case of 2022 still fresh in their memory.
Walker was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in the jungle in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.
