The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which runs Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh, has been making headlines over the adulteration in ghee that was used in preparing laddu prasadam at the temple. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took over the probe. The findings are shocking. The supplier to TTD did not even procure milk or butter from anywhere for 5 years, and yet they supplied 68 lakh kg of ghee worth Rs 250 crore to the temple. 

As the details were revealed, the officials arrested Ajay Kumar Sugandh, who supplied various chemicals like monodiglycerides and acetic acid ester to Bhole Baba Organic dairy in Uttarakhand. He was awarded the contract by TTD to supply ghee for the preparation of laddu prasadam, reported Times of India.

How promoters scammed TTD for 5 years

From 2019 to 2024, the promoters of the dairy Pomil Jain and Vipin Jain, allegedly supplied fake ghee to the temple. They first established a fake ghee manufacturing unit, forged milk procurement and payment records. The details were mentioned in the report of SIT which was submitted to a Nellore court.

CBI said the Bhole Baba dairy was disqualified and blacklisted in 2022, but somehow, they kept supplying spurious ghee to the TTD. As per TOI, they submitted bids for contracts through other dairies including Tirupati-based Vyshnavi dairy, UP-based Mal Ganga and Tamil Nadu-based AR Dairy Foods.

The central investigating agency also found that four containers of ghee stocks adulterated with animal fat allegedly supplied by AR dairy and subsequently rejected by the TTD in July last year were re-supplied to TTD. It was done by Bhole Baba dairy promoters through Vyshnavi dairy.

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The FSSAI officials and SIT inspected the AR dairy plant at Dindigul, and found that the four ghee tankers never returned to the AR dairy plant but were diverted to a local stone crushing unit located close to Vyshnavi dairy plant.

A month later in August, Vyshnavi dairy, which was still a ghee supplier to the TTD within the Andhra Pradesh circle category, modified the labels on the trucks, forged the quality improvement data and supplied back the same rejected ghee to the Tirupati trust, said CBI. 

And this low-quality ghee was used in the preparation of the sacred Tirupati Laddu prasadams.