TIRUPATI/VIJAYAWADA : In a significant development in the ongoing investigation into the use of adulterated ingredients in the making of the Tirumala Laddu Prasadam, the Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted by the Supreme Court, is reportedly planning to issue notices to YSRCP Rajya Sabha MP and former TTD (Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams) Chairman YV Subba Reddy and then Executive Officer (EO) AV Dharma Reddy, the sources informed.
The SIT, led by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), has already arrested four persons: Vipin Jain and Pomil Jain, former directors of Bhole Baba Dairy, Apoorva Chawda from Vaishnavi Dairy and Raju Rajasekharan from AR Dairy which supplied dairy products to prepare the famed sweets.
According to highly placed sources, the SIT is likely to arrest three more accused, including one from Vaishnavi Dairy and Bhole Baba Organic Dairy, and a TTD higher official.
It is learnt that the investigators are preparing to book several marketing officials and technical committee members of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams for allowing tankers with adulterated ghee in 2024. The SIT probe revealed rampant irregularities in the ghee supply process.
AR Dairy is accused of submitting false documentation and seals to secure the tender, despite lacking the capacity to supply the required amount of ghee to TTD for Laddu preparation.
In 2024, tenders were invited from firms within 1,500 km of Tirumala to supply ghee for the Laddu preparation. AR Dairy participated in the tender by submitting forged documents. They also allegedly influenced the TTD’s Technical Committee for a favourable inspection report.
Adulterated ghee supplied from Uttarakhand As per the supply order, AR Dairy delivered four tankers of ghee in June 2024.
AR Dairy manipulated production capacity to secure TTD ghee tender
However, questions over the ghee quality were raised when the tankers reached TTD.
Samples of the ghee from the trucks in question were sent to a laboratory in Gujarat, where the results confirmed the presence of adulterants.
Consequently, the four tankers were sent back to the supplier in Dindigul.
Despite the report, the tankers ended up at Vaishnavi Dairy in Srikalahasti instead of AR Dairy in Dindigul. It is pertinent to know that Vaishnavi Dairy, which also supplies ghee to TTD, sent the adulterated ghee back to TTD, where it was ultimately used for the preparation of the Laddus.
In this backdrop, it is revealed that the Bhole Baba Dairy in Uttarakhand is the source of the adulterated ghee.
The SIT identified that Bhole Baba Dairy supplied ghee to TTD in 2019. However, Bhole Baba Dairy continued to supply the ghee in the name of Vaishnavi Dairy even after TTD rejected its ghee tankers in 2022.
As per sources, though AR Dairy secured the tender to supply ghee, it supplied the ghee that was sourced from Bhole Baba Organic Dairy of Uttarakhand.
While AR Dairy’s actual production is just 945.6 metric tonnes, it escalated the figure to 3,072 metric tonnes in the tender documents.
It was found that Rs 70 lakh was transferred to AR Dairy from Bhole Baba Dairy for bagging the tender. The Rs 51 lakh deposit required for tender was also paid by Bhole Baba Organic Dairy.
The report also indicated that both Vaishnavi and Bhole Baba Dairies sealed a secret agreement to give Rs 2.75 to Rs 3 per kg to AR Dairy as commission for ghee supplied to TTD under its name.
