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4h ago

CBI SIT Says Tirupati Received ₹250-Crore Fake Ghee Over Five Years, Delhi Trader Held

The remand report outlines a lab‑evading proxy network that manipulated tests to pass synthetic fats into temple supplies.

A wide shot of the main entrance (Maha Dwaram) to the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati, India. The tall, multi-tiered white and silver gopuram stands prominently against the sky. A central mandapam (pavilion) with a large 'U' shaped emblem is visible just below the gopuram. A large, open courtyard or plaza is filled with devotees. Green hills covered in foliage rise behind the complex.
The dairy promoters forged milk procurement and payment records to fake their credibility.
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Overview

  • The SIT’s remand filing says about 68 lakh kg of adulterated ghee worth roughly ₹250 crore was supplied to TTD from 2019 to 2024.
  • Delhi-based trader Ajay Kumar Sugandh, accused of supplying monoglycerides and acetic acid esters used to fake ghee, was arrested and remanded to judicial custody until November 21.
  • Investigators say Bhole Baba Organic Dairy never procured milk or butter, used palm and palm kernel oils with additives, and spiked RM values with acetic acid esters, including purchases worth ₹7 crore.
  • Despite being blacklisted in 2022, supplies allegedly continued via proxies including Vyshnavi, Mal Ganga and AR Dairy, with rejected tankers in 2024 diverted and relabelled before being sent back, according to SIT and FSSAI findings.
  • CFTRI reports received by TTD in 2022 indicated adulteration with vegetable fats, yet supplies continued, and the SIT says its probe into proxy suppliers, finances and procurement lapses remains active.