In the latest development in the Tirupati Laddu adulteration case, the special investigation team (SIT) led by the CBI has arrested four people, the officials said. The case is connected to the alleged adulteration in the laddus offered as prasadam to devotees at the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple.
Those arrested have been identified as Vipin Jain and Pomil Jain, former directors of Bhole Baba Dairy, Apoorva Chawda from Vaishnavi Dairy and Raju Rajasekharan from AR Dairy, the officials said.
On Sunday night, an official said, “Four people have been arrested. Two persons (Bipin Jain and Pomi Jain) were of Bhole Baba Dairy, Apoorva Chawda of Vaihsnavi Dairy and (Raju) Rajasekharan of AR Dairy.”
What did SIT find?
As per the sources, the SIT investigation has revealed serious violations at every step of the ghee supply, leading to the arrests. The officials revealed that Vaishnavi Dairy officials secured tenders under the name of AR Dairy to supply ghee to the temple and were also involved in creating fake records to manipulate the tender process.
The SIT unearthed that Vaishnavi Dairy had falsely claimed that it sourced ghee from Bhole Baba Dairy while the authorities noticed that the latter did not possess the capacity to meet the temple board Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam’s demand, sources added.
SC ordered SIT probe
In November last year, the CBI set up a five-member SIT on the orders of the Supreme Court to probe the allegations of the use of animal fat in making Tirupati laddus. The team comprised two officers from the central agency, two from Andhra Pradesh Police and one from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), they said.
(With PTI Inputs)
