When the Tirumala Laddu adulteration issue surfaced, YSR Congress told the Supreme Court it did not trust the CID inquiry and requested a CBI probe. The Supreme Court formed a SIT led by the CBI and ordered an independent investigation.
The SIT reported irregularities in e-tendering, suppressed lab results, blacklisted suppliers working under proxies, and a link between TTD procurement officials and dairy contractors involving kickbacks. So far, 29 people are named as accused and 10 arrests have taken place.
TTD buys around 1.61 crore kg of ghee every year, valued at ₹534 crore. Of this, 68 lakh kg worth ₹250 crore was found adulterated. The ghee came from Bhole Baba Dairy, AR Dairy, Vaishnavi Dairy, and Malgang Dairies. One supplier did not procure even a single kilo of ghee, exposing large-scale malpractice.
Despite the findings, Jagan Mohan Reddy insists no wrongdoing occurred. He said Chandrababu Naidu is politicising faith and that there is no evidence adulterated ghee reached laddu production or was consumed by devotees. He claimed TTD has strong testing and no tanker enters without NABL certification followed by verification in TTD labs.
The testing system exists, and no one doubts its framework. But the CBI-led SIT has clearly shown that the system was bypassed and the adulteration took place. The compromise happened between 2019 and 2024, and even YV Subba Reddy’s PA was arrested. More details are expected as the probe continues.
This investigation is not controlled by the State Government. YSR Congress itself approached the Supreme Court and got this SIT appointed, so denying its findings now raises questions. The situation looks like an attempt to shield those involved.
Tirumala and its laddu hold deep spiritual value. If adulteration happened, accountability is necessary. Those responsible should face punishment, and devotees deserve complete truth.
