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Tirupati: A CBI investigation into Tirupati laddu ghee adulteration revealed that a fake dairy in Uttarakhand supplied 68 lakh kg ghee worth Rs 250 crore to TTD between 2019 and 2024, Times of India reported.
The dairy based in Uttarakhand reportedly never purchased milk or butter, CBI Special Investigation Team (SIT) revealed after the arrest of the accused Ajay Kumar Sugandh. The probe has given rise to serious questions about the temple’s internal checks and its failure to detect the fraud that ran for many years. The SIT revealed these details in its remand report, which was submitted to a court in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh.
Bhole Baba Organic Dairy blacklisted:
The remand report has exposed a fake ghee production unit and fake documents related to procuring of milk and butter and payments.
Bhole Baba Organic Dairy, run by Vipin Jain and Pomil Jain, and located in Bhagwanpur, Haridwar district of Uttarakhand was identified as the main supplier behind the operation.
Sugandh has reportedly supplied various chemicals such as Monodiglycerides and Acetic Acid Esters, typically used in industrial adulteration, to enhance ghee’s texture and stability.
As per Times of India, Bhole Baba Dairy got disqualified and blacklisted in 2022 but it had not stopped them supplying adulterated ghee to the TTD. They used front companies and secured tenders in different names, including Vaishnavi Dairy (Tirupati), AR Dairy Foods (Tamil Nadu), Mal Ganga Dairy (Uttar Pradesh).
The remand report further states that huge quantities of ghee supplied to the TTD was adulterated with animal fat.
In July 2024, four containers ghee stocks adulterated with animal fat supplied by AR Dairy, rejected by the TTD, was supplied back to the temple.
In August 2024, Vyshnavi Dairy similarly supplied rejected adulterated ghee back to the TTD, as per the CBI investigation.
CBI to question senior TTD officials:
The agency will question many senior TTD officials and AP Dairy Development Department for the next phase of investigation.
