TIRUPATI: The Supreme Court-appointed CBI-led Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the adulterated ghee scam linked to the preparation of Srivari Laddu Prasadam at Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has named 12 more officials and experts as accused, expanding the scope of its inquiry. With this, the number of accused has crossed 35, exposing what investigators describe as a deep nexus involving TTD officials, technical experts and private dairy suppliers.
The SIT filed a special memo in the Nellore ACB Court seeking to add A-25 to A-36 to the case. Officials said external dairy experts from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Telangana, along with senior TTD officers who earlier served as General Managers in the marketing and procurement wings, have been included in the latest list.
In a major development, the SIT named retired General Manager (Procurement) Pralayakaveri Murali Krishna — the original complainant — as A-30.
Investigators allege that he colluded with dairy representatives and enabled the supply of adulterated ghee while serving on the TTD Technical Committee. The SIT said he and other officials accepted bribes from suppliers and, despite receiving a CFTRI report confirming adulteration, failed to alert higher authorities, allowing the unloading and use of spurious ghee for laddu production.
The newly added accused include Deputy Executive Officer (Warehouse) PV Natesh Babu (A-27), former General Manager (Procurement) P Jagadeeswara Reddy (A-28), former General Manager (Procurement) RSSVR Subrahmanyam (A-29) and former SV Goshala Director Dr K Harinath Reddy (A-31). External dairy experts responsible for plant inspections have been booked for allegedly issuing favourable reports without conducting proper checks.
According to the SIT, these lapses enabled ineligible dairies, including M/s Bhole Baba Organic Dairy, to qualify for TTD tenders.