CBI-led SIT probe exposes massive network of adulteration

Tirupati: The probe into the Tirupati laddu ghee adulteration case revealed a sprawling network of fraud involving several dairies and suppliers. Investigators from the CBI-led Special Investigation Team (SIT) have found that the entry of adulterated ghee into the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) supply chain was not an isolated incident but part of a carefully planned operation that ran for years.

At the centre of this scandal is Bhole Baba Organic Dairy, headquartered in Uttarakhand. Between 2019 and 2024, the firm allegedly supplied around 68 lakh kilograms of synthetic ghee, worth nearly Rs 250 crore, without ever purchasing milk or butter.

Instead, it is said to have manufactured artificial ghee using refined palm oils, hydrogenated fats, and palm kernel oils, enhanced with colouring and flavouring agents to mimic the taste and aroma of real ghee. To pass laboratory tests, Bhole Baba Dairy reportedly used acetic acid esters to artificially raise the Reichert-Meissl (RM) values, creating the illusion of purity.

Despite being blacklisted by TTD in 2022, Bhole Baba Dairy continued its operations through proxy dairies-Vyshnavi Dairy in Andhra Pradesh, AR Dairy in Tamil Nadu, and Mal Ganga Dairy in Uttar Pradesh.

These companies allegedly repackaged and rebranded the synthetic ghee before supplying it to TTD under their own names, allowing it to slip through the temple’s tender process unnoticed.

The scam began to unravel in July 2024, when TTD rejected four tankers of ghee supplied by AR Dairy after NDDB tests confirmed traces of animal fat.

The stock, however, never returned to AR Dairy’s Dindigul plant.

Instead, investigators later discovered that the tankers had been diverted to a stone quarry near Vyshnavi Dairy, where the ghee was refined and reprocessed to improve its texture and smell before being supplied again to TTD the following month.

According to the SIT, this operation was masterminded by Pomil Jain and Vipin Jain, promoters of Bhole Baba Dairy, who forged documents to show that the rejected ghee had been sold to unrelated firms in Kolkata and other locations. These fake records created a false trail to hide the fact that the same adulterated batch was used in the preparation of Tirupati laddu prasadam.

Investigators also found that Vyshnavi Dairy had stopped genuine dairy operations years ago. Instead of sourcing milk or butter, it allegedly relied entirely on Bhole Baba’s synthetic ghee. To mislead regulators, the firm maintained false quality control documents and even purchased small quantities of real ghee from reputed dairies to display during inspections.

The SIT has also arrested Ajay Kumar Sugandh, a chemical supplier accused of providing Bhole Baba Dairy with substances like mono-diglycerides and acetic acid esters, which helped improve the synthetic ghee’s consistency, aroma, and even its lab test performance. Officials say the case has laid bare serious lapses in TTD’s quality control system.