Hyderabad: Exactly two years after the issue of adulterated ghee in the Tirumala temple’s sacred offering came to light, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has alleged large-scale malpractices in the temple’s ghee supplies, officially estimating the value of the procured adulterated ghee at up to Rs 230 crore.
The ED’s estimate aligns with the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) findings stated in its chargesheet submitted in January, where it concluded that a massive Rs 250 crore financial and synthetic ghee fraud took place, involving 68 lakh kilograms of adulterated vegetable fat (primarily palm oil and chemical esters).
Making its findings public, the Hyderabad zonal office of the Directorate of Enforcement issued a press release, stating that alleged fraudulent ghee supplies to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) occurred over five years, from 2019 to 2024. The release was made available through the ED’s official handle on social media platform X on 18 September.
The ED also arrested Kailash Chand Mangla, promoter of Sukriti Foods Private Limited, for procuring and supplying adulterants and manufacturing adulterated ghee at his factory premises. According to the ED’s investigation, about Rs 96 crore worth of the total Rs 230 crore of adulterated ghee was made at his premises.
“Mangla was arrested under Section 19 of the PMLA, 2002, in connection with the TTD ghee adulteration case, and was produced before the Hon’ble Special Court (PMLA), Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, which remanded him to judicial custody,” the ED said on X, adding that further investigations are ongoing.
ED, Hyderabad has arrested Kailash Chand Mangla promoter of M/s Sukriti Food Pvt. Ltd. on 17.09.2026 under Section 19 of the PMLA, 2002 in connection with the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) ghee adulteration case. He was produced before the Hon’ble Special Court (PMLA),… pic.twitter.com/Etpn4Qo4jH
— ED (@dir_ed) September 18, 2026
Naming Mangla as one of the co-conspirators in the case, the agency said he facilitated the procurement of adulterants and manufactured adulterated ghee at his factory premises. The agency has also accused him of coordinating the supply of adulterated ghee through various front entities, including Sri Vyshnavi Dairy Specialities Pvt. Ltd., Malganga Milk & Agro Products Pvt. Ltd. and A.R. Dairy Foods Pvt. Ltd., the ED’s release stated.
ED said its investigation revealed that adulterated ghee was allegedly manufactured using Refined Palm Oil, Palm Kernel Oil, Palmolein and various chemicals, including MG-90, Monoglycerides, Myvacet Soft 400 and Acetic Acid Ester, and was subsequently supplied as Agmark Special Grade Cow Ghee to TTD.
The ED officially started investigating the TTD prasadam ghee adulteration issue in February after registering an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The case stemmed from an FIR registered at the Tirupati East police station alleging fraudulent supply of adulterated ghee to TTD.
After taking over the probe, the ED went after the money trail, involving shell companies, hawala transactions, and bribes paid to mediators or TTD officials to secure forged ghee supply contracts during the five years. The investigation further revealed that Kailash Chand Mangla created and maintained false records relating to the sale and purchase of ghee and refined palm oil to conceal the actual utilisation of adulterants and create an appearance of legitimate production and supply of genuine cow ghee.
Earlier, the ED had arrested Vipin Jain, promoter and director of Bhole Baba Organic Dairy Milk Pvt. Ltd, who is alleged to have orchestrated the manufacturing and fraudulent supply of adulterated ghee to TTD, as part of the ongoing investigation into the case.
“The ED’s findings point to a deeply disturbing pattern: nearly Rs 230 crore worth of adulterated ghee was allegedly supplied to TTD between 2019 and 2024. This was not an isolated incident – it indicates large-scale, meticulously planned, systemic adulteration over five years of the previous YSRCP government that demands full accountability,” TDP national spokesperson Jyothsna Tirunagari said.
The issue came to light after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu made a public statement during an NDA legislature party meeting in September 2024, alleging that substandard ingredients—including animal fats like beef tallow, pig lard, and fish oil—were used to prepare the sacred Tirupati laddu prasadam during the previous YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government’s tenure.
Several investigation agencies were pressed into action, with the CBI taking up the case in October 2024. It probed systemic corruption and large-scale financial fraud, fake manufacturing networks, and chemical adulteration involved in supplying spurious ghee to the TTD for the Tirupati Laddu prasadam.
With the Supreme Court intervening, the investigation was handed over to a five-member independent team directly supervised by the CBI Director following the top court’s orders.
Prasadam and ghee samples were sent to the National Dairy Development Board’s (NDDB) CALF laboratory, and its report indicated that tested ghee samples contained high levels of foreign fats, which ignited nationwide religious and political outrage.
Based on this report, the CBI-led SIT officially commenced its probe on the ground, taking over case files and reviewing laboratory data from the NDDB, and eventually submitting its final report to a Nellore court in January this year. As many as 36 individuals and dairy companies were named in the CBI’s report.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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