Tirupati laddu row: SIT arrests trader who supplied adulterated ghee

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) laddu ghee adulteration case arrested Delhi-based chemical trader Ajay Kumar Sugandha, named A-16 in the case. He was accused of supplying chemicals used for preparing adulterated ghee linked to the Bholebaba Dairy network. The SIT report shows that Uttarakhand-based Bholebaba Diary never produced milk and managed to get supply of 68 lakh kilograms ghee to the Tirupati temple to make laddu.

According to the remand report, adulterated ghee supplied to TTD was made by mixing palm oil, palm kernel oil and palmolein, along with chemicals like beta-carotene, acetic acid ester and artificial ghee flavour to pass lab checks and mimic taste and aroma. NDDB CALF test reports confirmed that samples collected by TTD were primarily a mix of palm-based oils rather than pure ghee. The report States that TTD floated an e-tender in March 2024 for 10 lakh kg of cow ghee, and a Dindigul-based dairy won the bid at Rs 319.80 per kg, a price investigators noted appeared “unviable” for pure ghee. Four tankers were supplied in June and early July 2024 and accepted based on routine checks that did not include adulteration testing. Later samples sent to NDDB confirmed vegetable and animal-fat adulteration.

The SIT says the accused, Ajay Kumar Sugandha, allegedly diverted large quantities of palm-based oils and fabricated records to show ghee production without procuring milk. The remand report estimates 68.17 lakh kg of adulterated ghee worth Rs 251 crore was produced, out of which 37.38 lakh kg worth Rs 137 crore was allegedly supplied to a dairy that later supplied TTD between 2022 and 2025.

During a search at a Delhi godown linked to the arrested trader, the SIT found blue drums with peeled-off labels and stickers of imported monoglycerides from South Korea, indicating chemical sourcing to prepare the adulterated mix. The accused trader was brought from Delhi to Tirupati, questioned at the SIT office, and later remanded to judicial custody by the Nellore ACB Court.

The Tirupati laddu controversy was raised by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in September 2024, accusing adulterated ghee used during the Jagan Mohan Reddy regime’s period. The Supreme Court ordered an SIT probe after the allegations.