Tirupati: Details of Pakistani company ‘A R Foods’ falsely viral with communal spin to ‘laddoo’ row

Amid the raging controversy over the alleged use of animal fat in the making of Tirupati ‘laddoo’, several social media users have claimed that the ghee used in the preparation of laddoos is supplied by a company named ‘AR Foods (Pvt) Limited.’ A screenshot with the names of five Muslim employees of the said company is being shared in this context.

X user @RealBababanaras, who regularly shares disinformation on social media, posted the viral screenshot. At the time of this article being written, it has been viewed more than 4,000 times. (Archive)

Multiple social media posts claiming that following are the top management names of the Tamil Nadu company supplying desi ghee to Tirupati Balaji. Is this true ? pic.twitter.com/R0e39KqjRp

— Baba Banaras™ (@RealBababanaras) September 22, 2024

X-verified user @shauryabjym, associated with the BJYM, shared the screenshot and made the same claim. The tweet suggests that the culprits behind the Tirupati laddoo fiasco could be identified by their names. (Archive)

तिरूपति बालाजी मैं देसी घी की सप्लाई करने वाली कंपनी के डायरेक्टर के नाम निम्नलिखित हैं

नाम से ही इनके कुकृत्य का अंदाज़ा लगाया जा सकता हैं !!👇👇 pic.twitter.com/aryqxcytqN

— Shaurya Mishra (@shauryabjym) September 22, 2024

Several other users on X also amplified the screenshot with the viral claim. (Archives – 1, 2, 3)

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The claim is also viral on Facebook.

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Fact Check 

Alt News tried looking up the company ‘AR Foods (Pvt) Limited’ — the name provided in the screenshots amplified on social media with the claim that it’s the same company that supplied ghee to the Tirupati temple. We found their LinkedIn page, which described the company as one dealing in food and beverages, based out of Islamabad, Pakistan.

It is noteworthy that the viral screenshot shows ‘Pakistan’ as the locations of all the five employees. It is only natural because they are employees of an Islamabad-based organization. However, this organization and its employees are no way linked to the Tirupati temple controversy.

We came across a Hindustan Times report, published on September 21, which reveals that the name of the company that was supplying ghee to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (which oversees the management of the temple). It is ‘AR Dairy Food Private Limited.’ The company, based in Tamil Nadu, was founded in 1995.

We checked the details of the company and found that the company was located in the city of Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, and was managed by three directors, namely, Rajasekaran Suriyaprabha, Raju Rajasekaran and SR Srinivasan.

Therefore, it is evident that the viral screenshot bearing the names of Muslim employees are not connected to the Tirupati laddoo controversy. This has been taken from the employee details of a food and beverage company, based out of Pakistan. Social media users are trying to give the controversy a communal angle. In reality, one of the suppliers of ghee to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is a Tamil Nadu-based company named ‘AR Dairy Food Private Limited’. Rajasekaran Suriyaprabha, Raju Rajasekaran and SR Srinivasan are the directors of this organization.

Prantik Ali is an intern at Alt News.