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The Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the controversial Tirupati laddu ghee adulteration case has found that an Uttarkhand-based company supplied nearly 60 lakh kg of adulterated ghee to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) at the cost of Rs 240 crore between 2019 and 2024.
The ghee supplied by Bhole Baba Dairy was allegedly made by mixing adulterants such as palm oil, palm kernel oil, palmolein, chemicals such as beta-carotene, acetic acid ester, ghee flavour and other adulterants. It was made in such a way as to “adjust” lab test values and to “maintain aroma” in the adulterated ghee, the SIT has found.
Bhole Baba Dairy also allegedly used proxy suppliers based in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu to sell this adulterated ghee to TTD.
In July 2024, four containers of ghee supplied by Dindigul-based AR Dairy were rejected by the TTD as they were found to have adulterants potentially including animal fats. The investigation reportedly found that this rejected ghee was later supplied back to TTD through another proxy, Vyshnavi Dairy, based in Srikalahasti near Tirupati, according to The Times of India.
The SIT, led by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), is investigating allegations of adulteration in the ghee supplied for preparing the laddus at the Tirumala Venkateswara temple, one of the richest and most visited Hindu temples in the world.
A major political row erupted in 2024 over the Tirupati laddus after the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), in coalition with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), came to power in Andhra Pradesh. After finding adulteration in four samples of ghee supplied to TTD, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister and Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan and others in the ruling coalition alleged that the ghee being used at the Hindu pilgrimage site was being adulterated with beef tallow and other substances.
However, the lab reports had shown beef tallow and lard as two of several possible impurities including coconut, sunflower, and olive oils. Experts had said that the reports do not conclusively establish the presence of animal fats in the ghee samples.
Two former directors of Bhole Baba Dairy, Pomil Jain and Vipin Jain, were arrested by the SIT in February 2025. It was alleged that fake records were created claiming that ghee was sourced from Bhole Baba Dairy, but their plant actually lacked the capacity to supply the required quantity. They allegedly supplied ghee through proxy dairies.
In a remand report submitted to a Nellore court, the SIT said that the Pomil and Vipin Jain prepared the adulterated ghee without procuring milk at their plant at Bhagwanpur near Roorkee in Uttarakhand.
They supplied this adulterated ghee to TTD through their own company Bhole Baba Organic Dairy Milk Pvt Ltd, and also through other suppliers – Vyshnavi Dairy near Srikalahasti, Malganga Milk and Agro Products near Pune, and AR Dairy in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu – as part of a “conspiracy”, the SIT’s report said.
The report said that this adulterated ghee “was used for the preparation of sacred prasadams of Lord Sri Venkateswara Swamy, which hurt the religious sentiments of crores of devotees.”
The SIT also mentioned that when YSRCP MP YV Subba Reddy was the TTD chairman, in 2022, an anonymous complaint was received against Bhole Baba Dairy.
Samples from all suppliers including Bhole Baba, Vyshnavi and Premier Agri were tested at the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) in Mysuru, and although the reports showed adulteration with vegetable fats, no action was taken and the supply contracts continued till 2024, according to the SIT.
Subba Reddy is also former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s uncle. His former personal assistant Chinna Appanna was arrested by the SIT in October, for allegedly receiving bribes from TTD’s ghee suppliers to the tune of Rs 50 lakh.
The SIT has said that in 2022, Bhole Baba’s former director Pomil Jain even complained to Subba Reddy about his PA’s demand for bribes and requested not to conduct any inspection of their plant for a year.