Tirupati, Feb 10 (IANS): The Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted on the orders of the Supreme Court has arrested four persons in connection with the alleged adulteration of sacred laddu of Tirumala temple.

The arrested persons are from organizations which supplied ghee including AR Dairy (Tamil Nadu), Parag Dairy (Uttar Pradesh), Premier Agri Foods, and Alpha Milk Foods.

Those arrested are Bipin Jain and Pomil Jain, former directors of Bhole Baba Dairy (Roorkee, Uttarakhand), Vaishnavi Dairy (Poonambakkam) CEO Apoorva Vinay Kant Chawda, and AR Dairy (Dundigal) MD Raju Rajasekharan.

The accused, interrogated for three days in Tirupati, were found to be uncooperative despite primary evidence of their involvement.

The team conducted inspections at Tirumala, Tirupati, and AR Dairy’s facility in Tamil Nadu.

AR Dairy, which had a contract with Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), has been found guilty of multiple irregularities.

According to an official release, representatives of Vaishnavi Dairy secured tenders in the name of AR Dairy for ghee supply. It fabricated false documents and seals, using the AR Dairy name to manipulate the tender process.

Fake records were created by Vaishnavi Dairy, claiming to have sourced ghee from Bhole Baba Dairy in Roorkee. Authorities found that Bhole Baba Dairy did not have the capacity to supply such quantities of ghee.

The SIT comprises Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Hyderabad Division Joint Director Viresh Prabhu, Visakha CBI SP Muraliramba, DIG Gopinath Jetty, IG Sarvashrestha Tripathi, and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) officer Satyakumar Panda.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had claimed on September 18, 2024, that ghee used for making Tirupati laddu during YSR Congress Party rule was adulterated with animal fat. This has triggered outrage among devotees of the famous temple.

The state government had constituted a SIT to probe the allegations. Later, the Supreme Court replaced it with a SIT involving both central and state officials.

TTD uses 15,000 kg of cow ghee daily for the preparation of Tirumala laddus.

According to officials, AR Foods from Tamil Nadu had secured a tender to supply ghee at Rs. 320 per kg. On July 8, 2024, eight tankers of ghee arrived, and four tankers were sent to labs for testing.

On July 17, NDDB Lab reports confirmed adulteration of impure substances in the ghee.