Sacred treat, sinful scheme: Tirupati laddu ghee scam unveiled

Andhra Pradesh: A shocking scam has surfaced in the revered Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), where a blacklisted dairy, Bhole Baba Dairy, allegedly supplied adulterated ghee for the temple’s famous laddus using proxy companies. The remand report states that Vaishnavi Dairy and AR Dairy, acting as fronts, manipulated tender processes and fabricated documents to keep Bhole Baba’s supply chain intact. With the case now under intense scrutiny, the political battle over temple sanctity and food safety has intensified.

Blacklisted dairy operated through proxies

According to the report, Bhole Baba Dairy was disqualified from TTD's ghee procurement tenders in 2022 due to "unsatisfactory" manufacturing practices. Despite the ban, it continued supplying ghee through Vaishnavi Dairy and AR Dairy, which secured contracts through alleged document fabrication.

In 2020, Vaishnavi Dairy won a tender, while AR Dairy secured a contract in March 2024 using falsified documents. Instead of manufacturing ghee themselves, these firms allegedly procured it from Bhole Baba Dairy, bypassing the blacklist restrictions.

Adulteration and fabrication exposed

As per the tender agreement, AR Dairy was responsible for supplying Agmark-certified ghee. However, investigations suggest that the company manipulated documents and supplied adulterated ghee instead. TTD, which uses 15,000 kg of ghee daily for preparing its laddus, unknowingly distributed the adulterated prasadam to devotees.

Key Accused and Legal Action

The remand report names four accused in the case:

1. Pomil Jain and Bipin Jain, former directors of Bhole Baba Dairy
2. Apurva Vinay Kant Chawda, CEO of Vaishnavi Dairy
3. Raju Rajasekharan, MD of AR Dairy
4. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has charged them with fabricating documents, violating procurement laws, and endangering food safety.

Political firestorm over temple laddu 

The scandal has triggered a political showdown in Andhra Pradesh. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government had previously claimed that the Tirupati laddus were adulterated with animal fat, a claim that further escalated tensions.

A five-member probe team, including officials from the CBI, Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), and Andhra Pradesh government, is investigating the matter. The TDP has accused the previous Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government of failing to protect the sanctity of the temple’s offerings.

What’s next?

With the case now in court, devotees and temple authorities are demanding stricter checks on procurement processes to prevent future lapses. Meanwhile, the SIT continues its investigation into the extent of the adulteration and its impact on public health.

As the scandal unfolds, questions remain: How deep does the corruption run? And who else in the system allowed a blacklisted comp.