The former chief of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) board, which manages the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh, is under scrutiny following the discovery that adulterated ghee was allegedly used in the preparation of the temple's famous laddu prasadam. A Special Investigation Team (SIT), formed at the insistence of the Supreme Court and supervised by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), is currently probing the matter.
The investigation has revealed that approximately ₹250 crore worth of adulterated ghee was supplied to the TTD between 2019 and 2024. The adulteration was allegedly carried out by Bhole Baba Organic Dairy, based in Uttarakhand, and its subsidiaries, including Vyshnavi Dairy Specialities, Malganga Milk and Agro Products, and AR Dairy Foods. The directors of Bhole Baba Dairy, Pomil Jain and Vipin Jain, have already been arrested in connection with the case.
According to the SIT, the dairy allegedly used a plant in Bhagwanpur, near Roorkee, Uttarakhand, to mix palm oil, palm kernel oil, and palmolein with minimal quantities of ghee, along with chemicals such as Beta-Carotene, Acetic Acid Ester, and ghee flavor. Shockingly, the SIT noted that the dairy supplied an estimated 6.8 million kilograms of ghee to the TTD between 2019 and 2024, despite purportedly not procuring any milk or butter from any source in the country. The dairy is accused of fabricating milk procurement and payment records to appear legitimate.
The investigation also uncovered that Bhole Baba Dairy continued to supply adulterated ghee even after being blacklisted by the TTD in 2022. To circumvent the ban, the dairy allegedly routed its bids through other dairies, including Vyshnavi Dairy of Tirupati, Mal Ganga Dairy of Uttar Pradesh, and AR Dairy Foods of Tamil Nadu.
Ajay Kumar Sugandh, who runs Sugandh Oils and Chemicals in Delhi, was arrested on November 7 for allegedly supplying chemicals, including monodiglycerides and acetic acid ester, to Bhole Baba Dairy. The SIT's remand report indicates that Bhole Baba Dairy procured acetic acid ester worth ₹7 crore from Ajay Sugandh between 2022 and 2024 alone. Investigators found that the producers indiscriminately used acetic acid esters to manipulate the RM (Reichert-Meissl) value, an essential parameter in the adulteration tests conducted by the TTD's quality control team.
The adulteration came to light in 2022 when the then-TTD chairman, Y.V. Subba Reddy, ordered testing of the ghee samples and found them to be adulterated. However, the SIT alleges that Subba Reddy allowed the adulterated ghee to be supplied to TTD until 2024. The SIT also found that despite the adulteration being detected in 2022, no action was taken against Bhole Baba Dairy and other suppliers until 2024. Furthermore, Chinna Appanna, former personal assistant to Y.V. Subba Reddy, was arrested in October for allegedly receiving bribes from TTD's ghee suppliers.
The issue gained national attention in September 2024 when Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu claimed that substandard ingredients, potentially including animal fat, were used in the Tirupati laddus under the previous administration. While initial reports suggested the presence of beef tallow, fish oil, or pig lard, further investigations indicated that the primary adulterants were plant-based ingredients like palm oil. The SIT and the ruling coalition in Andhra Pradesh have stated that the use of vegetable oils and chemicals caused "deep hurt to religious sentiments".
