TIRUPATI: The Supreme Court-appointed Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)-led Joint Special Investigation Team (SIT) continued its probe into the Laddu adulteration case for the second day, focusing on quality control measures in private dairies, particularly in the production of ghee.
Investigators questioned accused Rajashekara, owner of AR Dairy in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, regarding the quality assurance processes followed before sending ghee in tankers to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD). The inquiry aimed to determine what quality control procedures were in place, how ghee quality was assessed, and whether the dairy adhered to standard operating procedures (SOPs) and food safety parameters.
Officials questioned why AR Dairy failed to maintain the required quality in four tankers of ghee rejected by TTD in June 2024. The SIT sought clarification on whether the dairy followed any formal food safety standards and, if so, why those were not upheld in this instance. On the second day of the investigation, the SIT examined the four accused, Rajashekara (A2), Pomli Jain (A3), Apurva Chavada (A4), and Vipil Jain (A5), in the presence of a technical expert from the Food Corporation of India (FCI). The team presented the laboratory reports from the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), confirming that the ghee in the rejected tankers was of substandard quality.
The SIT directly questioned the accused about whether the ghee in the tankers met the quality standards and, if so, why TTD rejected it. They raised doubts about whether AR Dairy had the production capacity for such a large volume or if the ghee was procured from an external source.