'Chitranna, pulao... no devotees found consuming non-veg food': Datta Peeta clarifies over viral video

Chikkamagaluru: The Executive Office of ID Peetha Shri Guru Dattatreya Bababudan Swamy Dargah has clarified in a press release that no devotees were found consuming non-vegetarian food in the premises of the shrine. The statement came after a video went viral with controversial claims of people consuming non-veg in shrine premises.

On October 31, Ranjith Shetty and other conveners of Sri Datta Peetha Seva Samiti complained referring to a video clip claiming some devotees visiting the shrine were found eating non-vegetarian food there.

The conveners of the committee had complained to the authorities. The authorities had informed them that they could enter the cave. However, there is no provision to conduct rituals, other than the rituals notified by the district administration.

In a recent update in this matter, the Executive officer said that the complaint by Ranjith Shetty is not true.

The release stated that the Tahsildar (in-charge) of the religious endowment department was present on the occasion and inspected the food being consumed by some devotees. During inspection, it was found that near the shed, the devotees from Andhra Pradesh were consuming 'Chitranna', 'pulao' and 'Menasinakayi Bajji' which were all vegetarian items.