CBI chargesheet sparks fresh political row
Tirupati: The CBI chargesheet in the Tirupati ghee adulteration case has triggered a political storm in the state, with both the ruling and opposition parties trading charges and selectively citing portions of the document to back their claims.
Amid the political sparring, the chargesheet brings out a crucial finding: the supply of adulterated ghee to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) began much earlier than previously believed. According to the investigation, Harsh Fresh Dairy — a proxy firm linked to Bhole Baba Dairy — supplied adulterated ghee to the Tirupati trust as early as February 2019, when the TDP-led NDA government was in power in the state.
This finding directly challenges the narrative that revisions to ghee procurement guidelines in February 2020 led to dubious dairies entering the TTD supply chain. The CBI investigation indicates that adulteration was taking place even when procurement norms were considered stringent. As per the chargesheet filed by the CBI-led Special Investigation Team (SIT), Harsh Fresh Dairy Products Pvt Ltd was incorporated in 2012 and was run by Pomil Jain and Vipin Jain along with their spouses, who were also directors. Though based in Uttarakhand, the firm allegedly secured contracts by creating forged documents and fake inspection reports in collusion with external dairy experts and lower-level staff in the TTD procurement wing. Using this fabricated paper trail, the company obtained an FSSAI licence and won a ghee supply contract in February 2019 by emerging as the lowest bidder at Rs 291 per kg. The contract involved supplying 82,000 kg of ghee in tins. The investigation states that the company did not procure milk at all and instead supplied ghee adulterated with palm oil, palm kernel oil, and chemical additives.
The chargesheet also names Bareilly-based Premier Agri Foods Pvt Ltd, which allegedly supplied adulterated ghee to the TTD over several years. The firm is reported to have secured contracts since 2013, irrespective of changes in procurement guidelines or the government in power.
Even after Bhole Baba Dairy was disqualified during the YSRCP regime, the investigation found that adulterated ghee continued to be routed to the TTD through proxy firms. In 2023, despite tighter rules aimed at restricting supply to reputed companies, the dairy allegedly channelled ghee through Vyshnavi Dairy, AR Dairy, and Malganga by again manipulating inspections and internal processes.
The chargesheet further notes that four ghee tankers from AR Dairy, rejected by NDDB tests in mid-2024 for adulteration, were allegedly rerouted back to the TTD under a different company name and used in the preparation of Tirupati laddu prasadam. Meanwhile, speaking to the media on Monday, YSRCP leader and former TTD chairman Karunakar Reddy said the SIT report had clearly established that a few technical experts, continuing from the TDP government’s tenure, colluded with ghee suppliers and indulged in corruption. He said Bhole Baba Dairy, earlier known as Harsh Fresh Dairy, supplied ghee to the TTD until 2018 and received technical approval for ghee supply during the tenure of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu at a rate of Rs 291 per kg. According to the SIT findings, Bhole Baba Dairy is the prime accused in the adulteration case and had supplied ghee to the TTD even during the TDP regime. Bhumana also alleged that Premier Dairy, another key accused, was repeatedly granted approval to supply ghee during the same period.