A Supreme Court-appointed SIT uncovered that adulterated ghee containing palm oils and chemicals was supplied to the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple for making its iconic laddu prasadam.
Former TTD chairman YV Subba Reddy reportedly continued using the tainted ghee even after discovering adulteration in 2022, with Andhra Pradesh minister Nara Lokesh calling the act a “deliberate assault on the faith of Hindus.”
SIT Finds Rs 250 Crore Adulterated Ghee Supply to Tirumala Temple Between 2019 and 2024: Report
The ghee was allegedly produced at a plant near Roorkee and supplied by Bhole Baba Organic Dairy Milk Pvt Ltd and its subsidiaries; company directors Pomil Jain and Vipin Jain have been arrested, The Indian Express reported.
Summary
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing alleged adulteration of the Tirumala laddu prasadam has concluded that the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple at Tirumala in Tirupati district, Andhra Pradesh, was supplied with adulterated ghee worth Rs 250.80 crore between 2019 and 2024.
The SIT was formed at the insistence of the Supreme Court.
Officials told The Indian Express that the tainted ghee was allegedly supplied by Harsh Fresh Dairy Products — also doing business as Bhole Baba Organic Dairy Milk Pvt Ltd — and its subsidiaries Vyshnavi Dairy Specialities Pvt Ltd, Malganga Milk and Agro Products Pvt Ltd, and AR Dairy Foods Pvt Ltd.
According to the SIT, the adulteration reportedly took place at a plant in Bhagwanpur, near Roorkee in Uttarakhand, where substances such as palm oil, palm kernel oil and palmolein were added. These adulterants were mixed with “minimal quantity of ghee along with other chemicals including Beta-Carotene, Acetic Acid Ester, ghee flavor”, the SIT found.
Directors of Bhole Baba Dairy, Pomil Jain and Vipin Jain, are among those who have been arrested in connection with the case.
The SIT says the use of plant-based ingredients was the principal adulteration. The probe found the practice came to light in 2022 when then Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) chairman YV Subba Reddy sent samples for testing and discovered the ghee was impure. “However, Subba Reddy allowed the adulterated ghee to be supplied to TTD till 2024,” SIT officials told The Indian Express.
The laddu prasadam tradition at the temple of Lord Venkateswara stretches back more than 300 years; the temple began offering laddu as prasadam to devotees in 1715. The sweets are prepared in a special kitchen, the Potu, by laddu makers from a particular sect who have carried out the task for centuries. The laddu makers shave their heads and wear a single clean cloth while working in the kitchen.
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Reacting on X, Andhra Pradesh minister Nara Lokesh, son of Naidu, said: “The Supreme Court-appointed SIT has exposed the truth. The guilty will face full weight of law. This isn’t adulteration — it is a deliberate assault on the faith of Hindus, a desecration of our belief, and a crime against the soul of Bharat. Those who played with the sacred must pay the price. Om Namo Venkatesaya.”
(inputs from The Indian Express)
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