Temple Official Arrested in Tirupati Laddu Adulteration Scandal: Investigation Reveals 20 Crore Contaminated Offerings

Every day, approximately 4 lakh laddus are prepared at the Sri Venkateswara Temple (File).

Hyderabad:

In a significant development regarding the adulterated ghee scandal involving Srivari laddus at the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), authorities have arrested a temple official. TTD Executive Engineer Subramanyam, who was taken into custody, underwent medical examinations at Tirupati's Ruia Hospital following his arrest.

Subramanyam previously held the position of General Manager of TTD Marketing. His apprehension brings the total number of arrests in this case to 10. The Sri Venkateswara Temple produces approximately 4 lakh laddus daily, requiring 12,000-13,000 kg of ghee for preparation.

The controversy regarding adulterated ghee used in laddu preparation during the former Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) government in Andhra Pradesh emerged after the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) gained power, with Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu revealing shocking laboratory findings last year.

A Special Investigative Team (SIT) established to examine the adulteration discovered that between 2019 and 2024, approximately 20 crore laddus were prepared using adulterated ghee.

From the total 48.76 crore laddus manufactured during this period, nearly 40% contained palm oil, palm kernel oil, and various chemical additives.

Throughout this timeframe, the previous TTD Board paid approximately Rs 250 crore to several dairy suppliers, including:

Bhole Baba Dairy (Uttarakhand)

AR Dairy (Dindigul, Tamil Nadu)

Vaishnavi Dairy (Punnabakalu, Tirupati district)

Malganga Dairies (Uttar Pradesh)

Of the 1.61 crore kg of ghee procured by TTD from these suppliers, about 68 lakh kg was identified as adulterated.

Recently, SIT officers questioned former TTD chairman and YSRCP MP YV Subba Reddy at his Hyderabad residence. His former personal assistant, Chinna Appanna, has already been arrested in connection with this case.