Lokesh Warns of Stern Action in Tirupati Ghee Adulteration Case
IT and HRD Minister Nara Lokesh warned that those involved in the alleged adulteration of ghee used in Tirupati laddus will face strict legal action.
He said the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) had “exposed the truth” behind the case. “The guilty will face the full weight of the law,” he posted on X. Describing the incident as a “deliberate assault on the faith of Hindus,” the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) general secretary called it “a desecration of belief and a crime against the soul of Bharat.”
Mr. Lokesh’s statement came after reports that the CBI-led SIT had arrested Ajay Kumar Sugandh, who allegedly supplied chemicals such as monodiglycerides and acetic acid ester to Bhole Baba Organic Dairy. The company was contracted by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) to supply ghee for laddu prasadam.
According to the SIT report submitted to the Nellore ACB court, Bhole Baba Organic Dairy, based in Uttarakhand, did not procure any milk or butter between 2019 and 2024. Despite this, it supplied more than 68 lakh kilograms of ghee worth around ₹250 crore to the TTD during that period.
Investigators found that the company operated a fake desi ghee manufacturing unit and produced spurious ghee when the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) was in power.
Last month, the SIT also arrested K. Chinna Appanna, a close aide of YSRCP Rajya Sabha member and former TTD chairman Y. V. Subba Reddy. Appanna, who worked as Mr. Subba Reddy’s personal assistant from 2014 to 2024, allegedly helped award contracts to ineligible dairies.
The alleged scam surfaced after the TDP-led coalition took office in June 2024. The state government first constituted an SIT headed by Inspector General Sarvashreshta Tripathi in September 2024.
Following petitions that questioned the independence of the investigation, the High Court ordered a new, independent SIT in October.
Subsequently, the Supreme Court formed a five-member SIT comprising two CBI officers, two senior Andhra Pradesh police officers, and one representative from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The team is investigating the extent of the fraud and identifying all those involved.