Man says found cockroach in Andhra Pradesh temple's 'laddoo'; official denies allegation

'On June 29, I visited the Srisailam Devasthanam and in the laddoo 'prasadam' I found an insect which is a cockroach. The Devasthnam staff is negligent while making 'prasadams,' the complaint read.

A man posted a video claiming that a laddoo offered at the Srisailam Devasthanam temple in Andhra Pradesh had a cockroach. Identified as Saraschandra K, he complained about the insect in his laddoo to an executive officer of the temple.

In the video posted by Telegu Scribe on X (formerly known as Twitter), the man can be seen taking the cockroach out from what seems to be previously inside the laddoo.

He issued a complaint through a letter, stating, "On June 29, I visited the Srisailam Devasthanam and in the laddoo 'prasadam', I found an insect which is a cockroach. The Devasthnam staff is negligent while making 'prasadams'. Kindly take a note and sort out the issue," as reported by NDTV.

A temple executive officer, Srinivas Rao, has denied the allegations, stating that the temple offerings are made under strict surveillance. "The laddoo(s) are and will be made under the constant supervision of staff at the preparation center. There is no possibility of a cockroach being found in it," he said.

India's temples and religious institutions have faced several controversies in the past regarding the practices and recipes used to make offerings. Last year, the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple's Tirupati laddoo was found to contain ingredients like animal fats. Another controversy included the Shree Sidhivinayak Temple, as a video showed their tray of laddoos has rats crawling around the offerings.

The Jagannath Temple in Puri had come under the scanner for allegedly using animal fat in the 'ghee' for their laddoos. The temple offerings were said to be inspected by the government of Odisha, as a precautionary measure.