TIRUPATI: The CBI-led special investigation team probing the Tirupati laddu ghee adulteration case has stumbled upon some shocking details following the arrest of A-16, Ajay Kumar Sugandh, who supplied various chemicals including monodiglycerides and acetic acid ester to Bhole Baba Organic Dairy, contracted by the TTD to supply ghee to be used in the preparation of laddu prasadam.The SIT had made several startling revelations in the remand report submitted to the Nellore ACB court. The SIT investigation revealed that Bhole Baba Organic Dairy established by its promoters Pomil Jain and Vipin Jain at Bhagawanpur in Uttarakhand never procured a single drop of milk or butter from anywhere but yet managed to supply 68 lakh kg of ghee to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams between 2019 and 2024.
During the course of the investigation, the SIT unravelled the end to end modus operandi of Bhole Baba dairy promoters, who managed to successfully con the richest Hindu temple trust for five long years.
In the garb of a dairy unit, Bhole Baba promoters established a full fledged fake desi ghee manufacturing unit and managed to supply 68 lakh kg of spurious ghee worth Rs250 cr to the Tirupati trust. Investigation revealed that Bhole Baba dairy promoters created fake milk procurement and payment records but enquiries with the local milk farmers clearly established the fact that milk procurement was never done.Pomil Jain and Vipin Jain purchased a nearby dairy sick unit and established Harsh fresh dairy at this sick unit, which is located about two km away from Bhole Baba dairy plant. Pomil Jain and Vipin Jain procured large quantities of palm oil and palm kernel oil in the name of Harsh fresh dairy from Delhi based Budges and Budges company, a large importer of palm oil from Malaysia.They also sourced various other chemicals such as mono glycerides, acetic acid ester, lactic acid, beta carotene, artificial ghee essence etc. from suppliers like Ajay Kumar Sugandh and Delhi based Aristo chemicals.The palm oil and palm kernel oil and other chemicals were shifted in batches from Harsh fresh dairy to Bhole Baba main plant, where the Bhole Baba dairy promoters got down to the business of manufacturing spurious ghee on a commercial scale.
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