Four people, including the heads of the company that distributed ghee, have been arrested months after animal fat was found in Tirupati laddu. They were arrested by the CBI’s special investigation team. Four people, including the MD of Tamil Nadu Dairy, have been taken into custody.
The other three are Vipin Jain and Pomil Jain of Uttarakhand-based Bhole Baba Dairy and Apoorva Chaudha representing Vaishnavi Dairy from Nellore. The CBI arrested all four after questioning them for three days, reports said. The accused were produced before the local magistrate in Tirupati for remand. Sources said that the SIT investigation has found serious irregularities and irregularities at every stage during the distribution of ghee. Lab reports had confirmed that the ghee used to make laddus contained buffalo and pig fat, fish oil and palm oil.
A report released by the Centre for Analysis and Learning in Livestock and Food (CALF) of the National Dairy Development Board in Gujarat had revealed that animal fat was found in the ghee used to make the famous Tirupati laddu. However, the controversy flared up when Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu said that the previous government led by Jagan Mohan Reddy used animal fat instead of ghee to prepare the laddu prasadam. The issue sparked a major controversy when the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the temple trust that oversees the shrine, accepted Naidu’s claim.
