The Central Bureau of Investigation, in its final chargesheet in the alleged adulteration of ghee used in the laddus offered as prasadam at Tirupati’s Sri Venkateswara temple, has said that no beef tallow or lard was used in the ghee supplied between 2019 and 2024, The Indian Express reported on Friday.
The chargesheet was filed on January 23 before the Anti-Corruption Bureau court in Nellore.
It stated that the ghee used for preparing laddus was adulterated with vegetable oils and esters, used to chemically mimic dairy parameters, the newspaper reported. It did not find that animal fat was used in the ghee.
In September 2024, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had claimed that substandard ingredients and animal fat had been 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 the Assembly elections in June 2024.
In October 2024, the Supreme Court ordered the formation of a Special Investigation Team to probe the allegations by the Andhra Pradesh government.
The chargesheet filed this month alleged that the primary supplier, Bhole Baba Organic Dairy, based in Bhagwanpur, Uttarakhand, operated a “virtual” manufacturing unit, The Indian Express reported.
Between 2019 and 2024, the firm allegedly procured no milk or butter at its facility, but supplied at least 68 kg of ghee to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams trust, which manages the temple. The ghee was synthetically manufactured without milk and was valued at approximately Rs 250 crore, the newspaper quoted the probe agency as having alleged in the chargesheet.
To make the product resemble authentic ghee, chemical esters, including acetic acid esters, were used to manipulate key test values, it alleged. They also added beta carotene for colour and artificial flavouring to imitate the smell of traditional ghee, The New Indian Express quoted the chargesheet as having alleged.
The final chargesheet accuses 36 persons in the matter, including procurement officials of the temple trust, representatives of the Uttarakhand-based supplier and intermediaries.
Several former officials have also been accused of accepting bribes and gifts in return for ignoring evidence of adulteration and signing off on flawed quality certificates, The New Indian Express quoted the chargesheet as having alleged.
After the Central Bureau of Investigation’s chargesheet became public, the YSR Congress Party said that Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan should apologise to former Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy for “false propaganda”, The Indian Express reported.
Addressing a press conference, YSR Congress Party’s Rajya Sabha MP YV Subba Reddy said that Tirumala, the town where the temple is located, is not a political platform but a spiritual centre for crores of devotees. He added that Naidu and Kalyan should apologise for bringing politics into the matter, the newspaper reported.
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