The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged use of adulterated ghee in the manufacture of Tirumala laddu on Thursday reportedly arrested TTD executive engineer RSSVR Subramanyam, who served as general manager (procurement) during the period under review.
He was later given a medical examination at Ruia Hospital in Tirupati, sources said.
The total number of arrests in the laddu adulteration case has now risen to 10.
The case centers on allegations that between 2019 and 2024, nearly 20 million laddus were prepared using substandard and adulterated ghee.
The SIT investigation reportedly found that of the 48.76 million laddus produced during the period, nearly 40% contained palm oil, palm kernel oil and other chemical additives instead of pure ghee, raising serious questions about oversight and procurement practices under the previous government.
According to the SIT’s findings, the then TTD board approved the purchase of ghee worth several crores of rupees from several dairies, including Bholebaba Dairy (Uttarakhand), AR Dairy (Dindigul, Tamil Nadu), Vaishnavi Dairy (Punabaka, Tirupati district) and Malgang Diries (Uttar Pradesh). The TTD is estimated to have purchased 1.61 million kilograms of ghee, of which officials now say 68 million kilograms were adulterated.
The SIT recently questioned former TTD chairman YV Subba Reddy at his residence in Hyderabad and has already detained his former personal assistant Chinna Appanna for questioning.
Published – 27 Nov 2025 20:47 IST
