Amaravati, January 31: The Supreme Court-appointed CBI-led Special Investigation Team probing the Tirumala laddu ghee adulteration has sent three letters to state departments, pointing to serious administrative shortcomings.
Investigations revealed negligent inspections by Boiler Department, District Industries, and State GST officials at dairies, storage units, and during tanker transport, which failed to detect fake ghee supplies over years.
Interstate border checkposts on Tamil Nadu-AP and Karnataka-AP routes showed weak monitoring, with no proper tanker documentation or consignment checks.
The letters urge probes by the Anti-Corruption Bureau into disproportionate assets and corruption links involving some TTD staff, plus action against boiler inspectors and GST personnel for duty failures.
The episode, tied to massive supplies of synthetic ghee (made from vegetable oils and additives, not pure cow ghee) to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams between 2019 and 2024, eroded trust in the sacred prasadam.
