Amaravati, February 25, 2026: A milk vendor in Rajamahendravaram knowingly sold contaminated milk to over 100 customers despite warnings, leading to at least four deaths and multiple hospitalizations in Andhra Pradesh's East Godavari district.
The vendor, Addala Ganeswara Rao, ran an unauthorized dairy called Varalakshmi Dairy for over a decade. On February 15, a glycol leak from a freezer contaminated stored milk.
After his brother-in-law warned that the chemical could turn the milk poisonous, Rao still distributed it the next day across Rajamahendravaram and his village in Korukonda mandal. Victims, mostly elderly, suffered acute renal failure; several remain critical, some on ventilators.
Rao confessed during questioning, was arrested, and remanded to judicial custody. Police seized chemicals and evidence; lab reports on samples are pending. Authorities have raided other milk centers statewide to prevent further risks.
