Tirupati: AV Dharma Reddy, who served as Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam’s Executive Officer during YSRCP tenure, appeared before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) for a second consecutive day on Wednesday, November 12, in the laddu ghee adulteration case.

He was questioned by the SIT on Tuesday for nearly nine hours at the Bhoodevi complex near Alipiri in Tirumala under the supervision of DIG Murali Ramba. He was grilled about procurement protocols and quality checks implemented at the time when adulterated ghee entered the supply chain.

SIT grills Bhole Baba Organic Dairy directors:

The SIT officials also questioned Bhole Baba Organic Dairy directors Pomil Jain and Vipin Jain, who were already arrested in the case and released on bail. The dairy located in Bhagwanpur, Haridwar district of Uttarakhand was identified as the main supplier behind the operation.

Though they were disqualified and blacklisted in 2022,  the setback had not stopped the dairy company from  supplying adulterated ghee to the TTD. They used front companies and got tenders in different names, including Vaishnavi Dairy (Tirupati), AR Dairy Foods (Tamil Nadu), Mal Ganga Dairy (Uttar Pradesh).

The fake dairy company supplied 68 lakh kg ghee worth Rs 250 crore to TTD between 2019 and 2024, having never purchased milk or butter. The scale of fraud came to light after Ajay Kumar Sugandh, a Delhi-based chemical supplier was arrested and interrogated.

The SIT is also investigating possible internal facilitation that could have enabled the continuation of supply even after blacklisting the company. The probe is also focused on supplier selection, verification of credentials, documentation and if any red flags were raised internally.