Tirupati Laddu controversy: CBI-Led SIT arrests 4 in Ghee Adulteration Case

A special team led by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested four people for supplying adulterated ghee used in making Tirupati laddus. These laddus are offered as ‘prasadam’ at Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Andhra Pradesh.

The arrested persons include former directors of Bhole Baba Dairy, Vipin Jain and Pomil Jain, along with Apoorva Chawda from Vaishnavi Dairy and Raju Rajasekharan from AR Dairy. Officials say that Vaishnavi Dairy had falsely claimed to supply ghee from Bhole Baba Dairy, which did not have enough capacity to meet the temple’s needs.

SIT investigation and Supreme Court order

The CBI-led Special Investigation Team (SIT) found major violations in the ghee supply process. Officials discovered that Vaishnavi Dairy secured contracts using AR Dairy’s name and manipulated tender documents.

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The Supreme Court had ordered this investigation in October after hearing petitions from BJP leader Subramanian Swamy and YSRCP MP YV Subba Reddy. The court also formed a five-member SIT, including officials from CBI, Andhra Pradesh Police, and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

In September, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had accused the previous YSRCP government of using low-quality ingredients and even animal fat in Tirupati laddus. This sparked a major controversy in the state.