Four arrested by CBI-led SIT in probe into use of allegedly adulterated ghee in Tirupati laddus

Four persons have been arrested by the Central Bureau Of Investigation-led Special Investigation Team in connection with the alleged adulteration of the ghee used in the laddus offered as prasadam at Tirupati’s Sri Venkateswara temple, PTI reported on Monday.

The SIT investigation revealed violations in the supply of ghee, which led to the arrests, PTI quoted an unidentified official as saying.

The individuals were identified by the official as Vipin Jain and Pomil Jain, former directors of the Bhole Baba Dairy, Apoorva Chawda from Vaishnavi Dairy and Raju Rajasekharan from AR Dairy.

Vaishnavi Dairy officials allegedly secured contracts through AR Dairy to supply ghee to the temple and created fake records to manipulate the tender process, the official said.

The investigators found that Vaishnavi Dairy falsely claimed to source the ghee from Bhole Baba Dairy, which lacked the capacity to meet the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam Board’s demand, PTI reported.

The board manages the Tirupati temple.

In September, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had claimed that substandard ingredients and animal fat were used to make the prasadam when the YSR Congress Party was in power in the state. The YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSR Congress Party lost power in the Assembly elections that concluded in early June.

In October, the Supreme Court ordered the formation of an SIT to investigate the…

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