SIT Files Chargesheet In Tirupati Adulterated Ghee Case

Tirupati: The special investigation team (SIT) on Saturday filed the chargesheet in the Nellore ACB court on the use of adulterated ghee in the preparation of the Tirumala Srivari Laddu prasadam.

AR Dairy, its MD Raju Rajasekharan, Pomil Jain, Vipin Jain, Apoorva Chavada, Bholebaba Organic Dairy, Vaishnavi Dairy, Shabil Kalimulla Khan (executive officer of Vaishnavi Dairy), Nagender, Shekhar, Harimohan (CGM of Bholebaba Dairy) and Ashish Agarwal (a procurement department employee) have also been named as accused.

The SIT arrested six individuals in connection with the case. However, Khan remains at large, and no arrests have been made yet for the employees involved. The investigation was sparked by a report submitted by the NDDB Calf Lab, Gujarat, on July 16 and 23 of the previous year, exposing that the ghee used in the Srivari Laddu prasadam preparations contained animal fat. Following this, the Tirupati East Police registered a case based on a complaint from Muralikrishna, the general manager of procurement.

The case centres around AR Dairy of Tamil Nadu's Dindigul, which won the tender to supply ghee to the temple. However, the dairy failed to deliver the ghee, which was instead sourced from Bholebaba Organic Dairy in Roorkee of Uttarakhand. This ghee was then sent to Vaishnavi Dairy in Tirupati district, from where it was delivered directly to the temple. The SIT has confirmed that the ghee prepared at AR Dairy was sealed before being transported.

Reports suggest that the investigation will move into its second phase, and further charge sheets are expected, particularly targeting the masterminds behind the crime and officials who failed to take action despite being aware of the fraudulent activity.

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