Tirupati, Mar 30 (PTI) The seizure of 120 bags of human hair illegally being transported on the Mizoram-Myanmar border last month was in no way connected with the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams that governs the hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara at nearby Tirumala, a senior TTD official said on Tuesday.

Refuting social media viral and reports in some sections of the media in this regard, TTD Public Relations Officer Dr Talari Ravikumar told PTI that these were false and misleading.

The hair that was seized in the Mizoram-Myanmar border (by Assam Rifles) has nothing to do with the TTD, he said.

TTD earns about Rs 150 crore annually by selling human hair on e-auction platform to international bidders, he said adding that once it is done, TTD would not interfere on issues like whether the bidder possessed international export permits or where they disposetheir stock.

If there was an official communication on any illegal activity attached to bidders who took part in the e-auction, TTD would blacklist the names, Ravi said. PTI COR APR

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)