Tirupati laddu row: Former TTD EO appears before SIT for second day

Tirupati, Nov 12 (IANS) Former Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) Executive Officer (EO) A. V. Dharma Reddy appeared before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the TTD laddu ghee adulteration case for the second day on Wednesday.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)-led SIT was questioning Dharma Reddy at its temporary office near Alipiri.

The SIT officials interrogated him for nearly nine hours on Tuesday.

Officials led by CBI DIG Murali Rambha reportedly questioned him on lapses during his tenure in the procurement of ghee, verification of suppliers, and quality control measures.

He was reportedly questioned on how Bhole Baba Dairy, blacklisted by TTD in 2022, allegedly continued supplying ghee through proxy firms.

The SIT recently arrested one Ajay Kumar Sugandh, who supplied various chemicals to Bhole Baba Dairy.

The investigation by SIT revealed that Bhole Baba Organic Dairy of Uttarakhand never procured a single drop of milk or butter from anywhere, yet managed to supply 68 lakh kgs of ghee to TTD between 2019 and 2024 through its proxies, including Nellore-based Vyshnavi Dairy, Maharashtra-based Mal Ganga Dairy and Tamil Nadu-based AR Dairy.

The promoters of Bhole Baba Dairy allegedly established a full-fledged fake desi ghee manufacturing unit and supplied 68 lakh kg spurious ghee, valued at Rs 250 crore, to TTD for use in preparing laddu prasadam.

The SIT last month arrested K Chinna Appanna, a close aide of YSR Congress party's Rajya Sabha member and former TTD chairman Y V Subba Reddy.

Appanna, who served as Subba Reddy's personal assistant from 2014 to 2024, allegedly played a key role in awarding contracts to ineligible dairies.

The SIT has also reportedly served notices to Subba Reddy to appear before it for questioning on November 13.

The alleged laddu scam came to light after the Telugu Desam Party-led coalition came to power in June 2024. In September 2025, the state government constituted an SIT headed by Inspector General Sarvashreshta Tripathi to probe into the case.

However, on the petitions challenging the constitution of the SIT by the state government, the High Court in October 2024 ordered the creation of a new, independent five-member SIT, replacing the state-appointed SIT.

The SC-appointed SIT consists of two CBI officers, two senior police officers from Andhra Pradesh, and one official from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

--IANS

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