Mice on prasad packets of Siddhivinayak temple? ‘Video shot somewhere outside,’ trust says

On a viral video that shows mice in ‘prasad’ packets, allegedly of Mumbai's famous Siddhivinayak temple, the trust that manages the temple said the clip was shot ‘somewhere outside.’

“Lakhs of ‘laddus’ are distributed daily and the place where these are prepared is clean. The video shows a dirty place. I can see it is not of the temple and has been shot somewhere outside,” Sada Sarvankar, chairperson, Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Mandir Trust (SSGT) told PTI.

Nevertheless, Sarvankar, who is from Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena party, stated CCTVs will be checked and police will conduct an inquiry.

“Action will be taken against the guilty,” he added.

He also assured devotees over the quality of laddus.

“Ghee, cashew and other ingredients are first sent for testing at the lab of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (Mumbai's civic body) and used only after their approval. Even our water is tested at the lab. This means we pay full attention that the prasad given to devotees is pure,” Sarvankar said.

Meanwhile, the clip in circulation shows mice on torn packets of laddus, kept in a blue tray. However, HT cannot independently verify its authenticity.

In Hindu mythology, Lord Ganesha has a mouse as ‘vehicle.’ Siddhivinayak is built for Ganesha, also known as ‘Ganapati,’ ‘Vinayaka,’ and more. The deity is worshipped when starting something new.

Meanwhile, the controversy comes amid row over laddus given as prasad at the Sri Venkateshwara Temple in Andhra Pradesh's Tirupati. N Chandrababu Naidu, the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, recently claimed that under the previous government, laddus with ‘animal fat’ were given to devotees.

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YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, Naidu's predecessor and political rival, has firmly rejected the charge.