ED arrests Sukriti Foods promoter in TTD Ghee adulteration case
The Hyderabad Zonal Office of the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) arrested Kailash Chand Mangla on 17 September 2026 under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, for his alleged involvement in a ghee adulteration case at Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD). The Special Court (PMLA) in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, later sent him to judicial custody.
The money-laundering investigation started after a First Information Report was filed at Tirupati East Police Station. The FIR accused those involved of criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery, and corruption in fraudulently supplying adulterated ghee to TTD.
The PMLA case is based upon the scheduled offences and on the alleged proceeds obtained from the supply. The ED states that the accused produced adulterated ghee using refined palm oil, palm kernel oil, palmolein, and chemicals such as MG-90, monoglycerides, Myvacet Soft 400, and acetic acid ester.
The agency subsequently marketed the product as Agmark Special Grade Cow Ghee and supplied it to TTD. It has placed the value of the supposed fraudulent supplies between 2019 and 2024 at approximately Rs 230 crore; of this amount, ghee worth about Rs 96 crore is said to have been manufactured by Kailash Chand Mangla. Mangla, who is the promoter of M/S Sukriti Foods Pvt. Ltd., is regarded as a co-conspirator.
The ED investigations found that Mangla arranged for the acquisition of adulterants and produced adulterated ghee at his factory. It is also claimed that he organised the further supply via front companies, such as M/s Sri Vyshnavi Dairy Specialities Pvt. Ltd., M/s Malganga Milk & Agro Products Pvt. Ltd. and M/s A.R. Dairy Foods Pvt. Ltd. These companies are part of the supply chain which the investigators have been looking into since the temple procurement scandal first appeared.
The ED also says Mangla created and kept false records of buying and selling ghee and refined palm oil. These records were meant to hide the use of adulterants and make it look like genuine cow ghee was properly produced and supplied. In money laundering, this kind of documentation is a layering method. It means treating illegal cash receipts as legitimate business income.
The arrest follows a previous action by the ED against Vipin Jain, promoter and director of M/S Bhole Baba Organic Dairy Milk Pvt. Ltd. It is alleged that Jain arranged the production and fraudulent supply of adulterated ghee to TTD. The fact that both arrests have now been made shows that the Hyderabad Zonal Office is moving from searches and document recovery to conducting custodial examinations of people believed to have controlled production and distribution.
The TTD case has already attracted national attention since the ghee was included in the Srivari laddu prasadam. The Enforcement Directorate's role is limited to identifying the proceeds of crime, tracking their movement through companies and records, and taking action against those believed to have obtained or hidden those proceeds.
Further investigation is still ongoing, and the next phase of the inquiry is expected to involve attaching the asset, analysing the factory and trade records, and examining the front entities, ED sources said.
