TTD ghee adulteration case: ED attaches assets worth ₹129.85 crore of dairy firms

The ED attached the property under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act as part of its investigation into the alleged supply of adulterated ghee used in the preparation of laddus at the Lord Venkateswara temple in Tirumala. | Photo credit: Representative photo

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Hyderabad Zonal Office, has provisionally attached movable and immovable assets worth ₹129.85 crore belonging to dairy companies, their promoters and related entities in connection with the alleged supply of adulterated ghee to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD).

The ED said in a report on Wednesday that the attachment was made under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002 as part of its investigation into the alleged supply of adulterated ghee used in the preparation of laddu prasadams at the Lord Venkateswara temple in Tirumala.

The assets belong to Bhole Baba Organic Dairymilk Private Limited; Sri Vyshnavi Dairy Specialties Private Limited, their promoters Vipin Jain and Pomil Jain and their family members; Sukriti Foods Private Limited, its promoter Kailash Chand Mangla and his family members, besides other related entities and individuals.

The investigation followed an FIR registered at the Tirupati East police station alleging conspiracy, cheating, forgery and corruption. The chargesheet and supplementary chargesheet, which were filed before the Special Magistrate for Special Police Establishment (SPE) and Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) cases in Nellore, allegedly detailed a conspiracy to supply adulterated ghee to TTD.

According to the ED, adulterated ghee worth ₹234.5 crore was supplied by Bhole Baba, directly and through other dairies, which were allegedly used as fronts in tenders in return for kickbacks.

The agency alleged that the ghee was made at the factories of Bhole Baba Organic Dairymilk Private Limited and Sukriti Foods by mixing refined palm oil, palm kernel oil and palmolein with chemicals, including monoglycerides, esters of acetic acid, lactic acid and beta-carotene. The products were allegedly billed as edible oils to conceal the transactions.

The companies allegedly recorded fictitious purchases of milk and ghee and sales of by-products such as skimmed milk. Palm oil used in production was shown to have been sold to fake buyers.

Payments for fictitious purchases were allegedly routed back in cash through hawala channels to finance the bogus buyers and pay commissions.

On June 2026, the ED searched 16 premises in six states and regions, including Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Delhi, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. It seized or froze ₹2.7 crore in cash and bank balances and arrested Vipin Jain and Kailash Chand Mangla.

With the latest attachment, the total value of seized, seized or frozen property in the case has gone up to ₹132.55 crore, the ED said.

Published – 14 Oct 2026 20:32 IST