The Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) laddu ghee adulteration case has arrested a Delhi-based chemical trader, Ajay Kumar Sugandha, identified as A-16 in the case. He is accused of supplying the chemicals used to make adulterated ghee connected to the Bholebaba Dairy network.

The case gained attention in September 2024 when Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu claimed that the famous TTD laddus had been adulterated with animal fat during the previous government’s rule. Following this allegation, a court-ordered SIT was formed to look into the matter, reviewing records of ghee procurement, supply chains and testing methods used by TTD.

As per the remand report, the adulterated ghee was made by mixing palm oil, palm kernel oil, and palmolein with chemicals such as beta-carotene, acetic acid ester, and artificial ghee flavour to pass laboratory tests and imitate the real aroma and taste of ghee. NDDB CALF test results confirmed that the ghee samples collected by TTD were mainly made of palm-based oils rather than pure cow ghee.

The report also mentioned that TTD had issued an e-tender in March 2024 for ten lakh kilograms of cow ghee. A dairy from Dindigul won the contract at Rs 319.80 per kilogram, a price that investigators later found to be “unviable” for genuine ghee.

In June and early July 2024, four tankers of ghee were supplied and approved after routine checks that did not include adulteration testing. Later, samples sent to NDDB confirmed that the ghee contained vegetable and animal fats.

According to the SIT, the accused allegedly diverted large amounts of palm-based oils and forged records to show ghee production without purchasing milk. The remand report estimated that around 68.17 lakh kilograms of adulterated ghee worth Rs 251 crore were produced, out of which 37.38 lakh kilograms worth Rs 137 crore were supplied to a dairy that later sold ghee to TTD between 2022 and 2025.

During a search at a Delhi warehouse linked to the trader, the SIT found blue drums with labels removed and stickers of imported monoglycerides from South Korea, suggesting that these chemicals were used in making the adulterated ghee.

The arrested trader was brought from Delhi to Tirupati, questioned at the SIT office, and later sent to judicial custody by the Nellore ACB Court.

Andhra Pradesh Minister Nara Lokesh wrote on X, “The Supreme Court-appointed SIT has exposed the truth. The guilty will face the full weight of the law. This isn’t adulteration, it is a deliberate assault on the faith of Hindus, a desecration of our belief, and a crime against the soul of Bharat. Those who played with the sacred must pay the price.”