The Special Investigation Team looking into the Tirupati laddu ghee adulteration case has uncovered a large-scale scam involving the supply of fake ghee to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams between 2019 and 2024. The probe found that Bhole Baba Dairy, a company based in Uttarakhand, allegedly sold about 60 lakh kilograms of adulterated ghee worth around Rs 240 crore.
Investigators said the company mixed palm oil, palmolein, and several chemicals like beta-carotene and acetic acid ester to imitate the look and smell of real ghee while still passing lab tests. To hide the operation, the firm is said to have used proxy suppliers from Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu to deliver the ghee to TTD.
The issue came to light when four containers from another supplier, AR Dairy in Dindigul, were rejected in 2024 for containing adulterants possibly including animal fats. The SIT later found that this rejected batch was resupplied to TTD through another front company, Vyshnavi Dairy, based near Tirupati.
After the new state government led by Chandrababu Naidu and Pawan Kalyan took office, the matter became a political flashpoint. Leaders accused previous administrators of allowing contaminated ghee, possibly with beef tallow, to be used in preparing the laddus offered to Lord Venkateswara. However, lab results did not conclusively prove the presence of animal fat, only showing traces of various vegetable and other oils.
Two former directors of Bhole Baba Dairy, Pomil Jain and Vipin Jain, were arrested in February 2025. The SIT said their factory in Roorkee did not even have the capacity to produce the claimed volume of ghee. Instead, they allegedly produced adulterated material and distributed it through several linked dairies across states.
The investigation also revealed that complaints about Bhole Baba Dairy had reached TTD in 2022 when YV Subba Reddy, a relative of former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, was the chairman. Yet no action was taken, even after lab reports confirmed adulteration. The SIT claims bribes worth Rs 50 lakh were paid to TTD officials to overlook the issue, and one of Reddy’s former aides has been arrested.
According to the report, the use of this fake ghee in preparing sacred offerings has deeply hurt the faith of millions of devotees, adding a moral and emotional weight to the ongoing investigation.
