Tirupati Laddu row: AR Dairy booked for supplying adulterated ghee

Hyderabad: The Tirupati police had registered a case against Tamil Nadu-based AR Dairy Pvt. Ltd., on the issue of supplying adulterated ghee. TTD on Wednesday formally lodged a complaint at Tirupati East police station alleging that AR Dairy had supplied adulterated ghee with vegetable oils and animal fat.

While the AR Dairy had denied any adulteration, TTD in its complaint said that a NDDB lab report had confirmed traces of animal fat in the ghee that was supposed to be used in making Laddu prasadam.

TTD's Procurement General Manager P Muralikrishna lodged a complaint against AR Dairy Food Private Limited, Dindigul at the Tirupati East Police Station. Muralikrishna said that the dairy representatives had sent a reply on September 4 denying adulteration after sending three notices to them on the issue.

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) also issued a show-cause notice to AR Dairy two days ago. FSSAI issued notice to AR Dairy asking them to respond on why their central license should not be suspended for violating the Food Safety and Standards 2011 regulations.

The regulator stated that the analysis of ghee samples in the central laboratory revealed that they did not conform to standards. All samples supplied by the TTD ghee procurement committee were sent to the NDDB CALF Lab in Anand, Gujarat for testing. FSSAI recognised that the ghee did not meet the standards.

Tripathi to lead SIT

The government had appointed Guntur Range Inspector General Sarvasrestha Tripathi as head of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the ghee adulteration incident, as well as other activities in Tirumala temple. Visakha Range DIG Gopinath Jetti, Kadapa SP S Harshavardhan, are the other members of the SIT. Two days ago, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had announced setting up a SIT to probe into Laddu row.

Jagan calls for pujas

Meanwhile, after coming under fire for the alleged adulteration of ghee with animal fat, the YSRCP has urged devotees across the state to participate in temple poojas on Saturday, aimed at restoring the sanctity of Tirumala, which was tarnished by Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.

YSRCP Chief and Former Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy took to the social media platform X, urging people to stand against the false claims made by Chandrababu Naidu.

Naidu had allegedly spread misinformation, claiming that Tirumala’s sacred laddu prasadam was adulterated with animal fat, which misled devotees and tarnished the revered image of Lord Venkateswara, he said.

The YSRCP expressed that this act, driven by political motives, deeply hurt the sentiments of devotees. In light of this, the party has called for participation in temple poojas on September 28 to purify Tirumala’s sacredness and restore the honor of Lord Venkateswara's prasadam.

Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy wrote "The sanctity of Tirumala, the significance of Swami’s prasadam, the glory of Lord Venkateswara, the fame of TTD, and the sacredness of the laddu prasadam of Lord Venkateswara were all defiled by Chandrababu Naidu, who, with political malice, deliberately spread lies that the prasadam was adulterated with animal fat and that devotees had consumed such tainted prasadam. In order to cleanse this sin committed by Chandrababu Naidu, the YSRCP is calling for participation in poojas across temples statewide on Saturday, September 28".