Tirupati laddoo scandal: Key supplier remanded in adulteration probe
SIT report exposes fake ghee racket; Ajay Sugandh held for supplying chemicals that turned palm oil into temple offerings.
Newsroom, November 08, 2025: A special investigation team has uncovered fresh details in the Tirupati laddoo adulteration controversy, with the remand report of arrested supplier Ajay Sugandh pointing to his central role in providing chemicals to a company that mixed them into palm oil to mimic ghee.
Over four years from 2020 to 2024, Sugandh allegedly delivered materials worth crores to Bhole Baba, who then shipped the altered product in tankers to the Tirumala temple, where it ended up in the sacred sweets.
The report states that substances like monoglycerides and acetic acid were blended into palm oil, which made up roughly 90% of the ghee used for the laddoos.
Sugandh, labelled as the 16th accused, was brought before the Nellore Anti-Corruption Bureau court on Saturday and ordered detained until November 21. The findings highlight a chain of deceit that compromised the purity of temple offerings, prompting calls for wider accountability.
