Tirupati, 12 November – Former Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) executive A. V. Dharma Reddy sat down with the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on its second day of questioning, this Wednesday. The SIT, spearheaded by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), is still digging into the TTD laddu ghee scandal that has shocked devotees and food‑safety officials alike.
The CBI team met the former TTD executive at its temporary office close to Alipiri. Law‑enforcement officers spent almost nine hours on Tuesday interviewing Reddy about key lapses in ghee procurement, supplier verification and quality checks during his time at TTD. In particular, they asked why Bhole Baba Dairy – a supplier black‑listed by TTD in 2022 – was still able to provide ghee. Investigators say this dairy used proxy companies to sidestep the ban.
The SIT’s recent raid saw the arrest of Ajay Kumar Sugandh, who supplied chemicals to Bhole Baba Dairy. Further investigations revealed that Bhole Baba, headquartered in Uttarakhand, never actually processed any milk or butter. Nevertheless, the dairy, through front firms in Nellore, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, supplied 68 million kilograms of ghee (worth about ₹250 crore) to TTD between 2019 and 2024. Officials suspect the dairy operated a fake “desi ghee” production line, delivering spurious ghee for the temple’s famous laddu prasadam.
Another key figure in the probe is K Chinna Appanna, a close aide of former TTD chairman Y V Subba Reddy and a member of the YSR Congress Party’s Rajya Sabha group. Appanna, who worked as Subba Reddy’s personal assistant from 2014 to 2024, allegedly helped award contracts to ineligible dairies. The SIT has already arrested him and is now serving notices to Subba Reddy, who must appear before the team on 13 November.
The scam surfaced after the Telugu Desam Party coalition took office in June 2024. In September 2025, the state government set up an SIT headed by Inspector General Sarvashreshta Tripathi to investigate. However, the High Court, responding to petitions against the state‑appointed panel, ordered a new independent SIT in October 2024. The court‑appointed team now includes two CBI officers, two senior Andhra Pradesh police officers, and a Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) official.
The case remains a key story for devotees, food‑safety watchdogs and anti‑corruption advocates across India. As the investigations unfold, national attention continues to focus on how a revered temple’s sacred food supply was allegedly compromised over several years of unchecked procurement.
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